Mimicry
by ExGrim
Summary: Izuku Midoriya awakens his quirk when protecting a kid from Bakugou and his cronies bullying... And it's a really powerful quirk too. A variation of All for One, Izuku has a quirk that many consider the pinnacle of quirk evolution. But there's a lot more to being a hero than having a powerful quirk and besides Izuku's quirk is not nearly so simple as it seems...
1. Chapter 1

I stood protectively infront of a fellow cowering kindergartner, arms crossed and blackened with soot. My legs trembled and my jaw quivered. If there was only one part of me that showed my conviction it was my eyes. Green like my mom's but filled with an intensity I'd been told was frightening.

"Get back, Deku…" growled another boy, Bakugou Katsuki. He too had intense eyes, but where mine were filled with a determined fire Bakugou's were filled with malice. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Deku. Worthless, Useless. Someone who couldnt do anything. That's what it meant. And that's what everyone thought I was.

"I-I…" I stammered.

Bakugou growled again, stalking forward like a predator. "Huh?! What's that? Did you say something?!

Two other boys flanked Bakugou and laughed. One hovered a little ways off the ground, tiny wings flapping as he did. The other opened and closed his unaturally long fingers, long as the forearm they led up to.

"Looks like he can't even speak either. He really is useless, just like you always say Bakugou." The flying boy teased.

"Quirkless and Speechless!" the other lackey added

I had thought the two of them my friends. We had played together, went adventuring after school together, had sat amazed at videos of heroes showing off their awe-inspiring powers and begun showing off our own powers with glee. Or, they had shown off their powers. I… I didn't have any. I looked back at the boy curled up in the sandpit. The boy was crying, fat tears plopping into the white sand. A bruise was already showing on his cheek. A bruise placed their by Bakugou and his two friends. Even if I didn't have any powers, even if I was useless I couldn't let them do this. This was wrong. "I-I wont let you hurt him anymore, Kachan!"

Bakugou, Kachan, extended his arms, palms upright.

_Crack-crack-crack._

Little explosions, the same ones that had covered my arms in soot, crackled off in Bakugou's palms. Despite the situation I admired the scene. Bakugou Katsuki really had a powerful quirk. It may not seem like much compared to All Might's strength, only about as strong as some of the bigger fireworks some older kids would play with, but it hurt like heck if he blasted you up close. Also, Kachan's quirk was still immature, barely ten-months old, and still had much room to grow. I would often wonder just what those 'little fireworks' would be like in a few years.

"You still trying to play the hero, huh, Deku?!" Showing off his athleticism, Bakugou crossed the distance between us in a single bound and, almost quicker than I could process, fired off one of his palm 'explosions' right into my chest. With a crack and a flash of light I was pushed back, the power of the blow coupled with the surprise of it all nearing tripping me up and dropping me to the floor. "You'd better get out of the way, you quirkless nothing!"

Coughing and wheezing, I still righted myself, making sure my feet were firmly planted. Holding my arms up in an mockery of a fighting stance I called out defiantly from a clenched jaw. "No."

Furious beyond measure, Bakugou hurled himself at me again, open palm now aimed at my head. An explosion, louder and stronger than the one before it, sounded out from the all but abandoned playground and Bakugou stumbled back. His face was twisted in an expression of surprise and disbelief and covered in soot. His eyebrows were partially burnt off. "Wh-what… What?" Bakugou said. Arm had come up instinctively to block the headshot and my palm was facing out and smoking. That explosive blast had not come from Bakugou.

Long-Fingers was the first to say anything coherent after the unlikely happening. "No way, Bakugou… Am I seeing things or does Deku really have the same quirk as you do?"

A recent obsession with quirk theory supplying the thought, I had barely managed to conclude that the likelihood of me exhibiting the exact same quirk as Bakugou being so unlikely as to be impossible, what with us not being even remotely related, before I was brought to my knees by a sharp pain that shot through my back. I screamed. Had my sweater been off the others would have seen the flesh of my back seem to bubble and boil, contort, distend and ripple. As though there were vile creatures swimming around beneath the skin. The pain was terrifiying. My shoulderblades burnt with a fury that I could only describe as feeling like someone was pouring molten lava into my back while someone else took turns stabbing my shoulders and upper back. Pain run through not only my back but my hands and eyes. My fingers stretched and pulled, the pain induced sweat on my brow and along my arms would spontaneously crackle, pop and fizz, burning little pockmarks into the skin. My eyes throbbed like a heartbeat, burning.

I screamed and screamed. The gathered boys all turned tail and ran, frightened.

"N-no, please! Help me! Help me!" I begged, pleaded. But they were too afraid to hear my pleas, and so I was left alone even as the skin on my back finally pulled too far and burst open, pushing out two bony, reed thin wings along with a colourless gunk that splattered all over the sandpit. Too weak to even hold up their own weight the wings crumpled in on themselves, folding up like dropped cloth. There was a moment of release, of satisfaction, once the wings had burst out my back, allowing me a moment to finally take a breath.

The moment was over all too soon though, my stretching fingers called for attention. The material that was my 'finger meat' soon ran out, or so it seemed, because the elongated finger soon opened at the tip, passing through bone with scattered strips of flesh. I screamed again. In less than three minutes it was all over, but for me it seemed like the greatest portion of my life. And when it was, wracked with the relatively dull throbbing, I could only cry and shake.

**_MIMICRY_**

The buzz of students in conversation rang through a classroom at Aldera Junior High. I sat amongst the class, silent. My hair had grown quite a bit since my kindergarten days, long enough that it fell over my eyes. That was by design. It let me hide my gaze from the annoying pests in the room. Right now that gaze was focused on the conversation of three students to my left, all gathered around a desk beside a window. The three students, uninteresting teen boys, were speaking of an attack at thetrain station that morning. They wouldnt have been worth my attention otherwise.

"You should have seen her! She was so hot man, I'm telling you." The apparent ringleader continued, prodding at his friends shoulder.

"What did she call herself again?"

"Mt. Lady. Not the best name, in my opinion, but with a gigantification quirk names arent that easy to come up with I suppose. I mean, what should she have named herself? Giganta-Lady?"

"Big Beauty?"

"Her Giant Hotness." Riffed another

"Triple-Z Cup." Said the first, smirking. A nearby girl slapped the back of his head without looking, not even pausing to stop her own discussion with her friends. It was not an uncommon occurence. I bit back the urge to sigh.

"Ouch." The boy said not making any attempt at retaliation, still smirking and oblivious to my general displeasure at the way their conversation was unfolding. With a quirk like mine you were all but guaranteed to become interested in strong quirks. In figuring out how they worked, in defining their limits. Discovering a new hero- and by extension their quirk- had always made me feel like a kid in a candy store. It was enough to make me listen in to idiotic conversations. I didnt have to be pleased at the exchanges though.

"Anyway, who was she fighting in the first place? Cant have been anyone really tough, if it was her debut."

"Ah- Thats where you're wrong, buddy boy. The guy she took down must have been as tall as a six-storey building, looked sort of like he had a shark head. Enhanced Strength too, if I had to guess. Shame he was just a petty thief."

The enhanced strength aspect was obvious but may have been noteworthy if the increase was significantly greater than simply a natural consequence of increased muscle-mass. I doubted it, seeing as they said he was only a petty thief. Also the three were stupid enough to need to state the obvious.

"Really? So a giant vs a giant, right? That must have been a really cool fight then."

"And you're wrong again, buddy boy."

"Okay, now you're just fucking with me. Why do you always want me to be wrong anyway, Yama?"

"Maybe because its still funny. Anyway, Z-Cup didn't really do all that much. Just landed the final blow. Dont get me wrong, it was still really impressive but Kamui Woods was the one who first caught up to the guy and started apprehending him, fought him for like five minutes and looked like he had the dude dead to rights by that point. She sort of stole his capture, appearing out of nowhere."

"Kamui was there? Shit, that sucks. Kamui is one of my favourites too. Hope he wasnt too pissed off by it."

"Nah, Kamui isn't the type. I think she was so hot he would have been happy to give up a hundred captures if she asked, you know what I mean?"

The three laughed pervesely but the conversation had lost it's appeal to me by then. It figured that someone with a gigantification quirk had to steal someone else's capture to have a good debut. Yeah, on the surface gigantification seemed like a pretty amazing quirk but the truth was when you broke it down it was mediocre at best. It typically came with enhanced strength, that was true, that though was more a necessity than a side benefit. You couldn't really lug around a larger body with your regular strength. And for some reason in the majority of cases that enhanced strength couldn't be used except whilst in giant form. It was also common for the giant form to be less like a scale of gradation, from standard size to maximum size, but rather like turning on and off a switch. Either regular size or giant size. This would, of course, lead to a utility problem. Gigantism was simply limited. Most couldn't fight in tightly enclosed spaces- not without risking massive collateral damage.

The bell rang a few minutes later and with it strolled in their class teacher. He was balding, though his ridiculously wispy comb-over seemed to say that he hadnt yet accepted the fact. He walked in with a serious demeanor and immediately shouted for attention. "Quiet down! Quiet down!" The teacher demanded. I sighed. My class was filled with the rowdy, juvenile sort so it took longer than normal to quiet down. But they did, eventually.

The teacher regarded them sternly. "Now, it's high time you all took your education seriously. You need to take time and decide exactly what it is you are working towards…" his seriousness broke with a grin "Oh, who am I kidding you all want to become heroes, right?"

The class roared their approval, throwing their hands up in the air, many summoning their quirks. All but me and another classmate. I wasnt exactly the cheering sort.

"Oh, that's right. Two of you even decided to apply to Yuei Academy. Bakugou and Izuku-san."

Bakugou, previously reclined back in his seat with feat atop the desk, stood up and shook a fist at the teacher. "Hey, teach, dont lump me together with these side characters! The only one here who has what it takes is me!"

"What did you say, Bakugou?! You think you're the only one here who has what it takes? I-"

Before the guy had even managed to finish Bakugou was there, hoisting up by the front of his shirt and holding a crackling hand to his face. "What was that? Huh?!" Bakugou asked, nose nearly up against his would be detractor's own.

The student paled, defiance flushing from his face in a moment. Stammering, he pointed straight at me. I frowned. " I- I mean… W-well, what about Izuku? Doesn't he have a pretty good quirk, too?"

Bakugou looked about ready to kill the guy at that.

"Now, now. You all need to calm down. Bakugou please go back to your seat. Miyamoto, dont antagonize him."

Bakugou headed back to his seat, but glared back at me with a fierce hatred, Miyamoto forgotten and deciding that it was somehow my fault someone had dared talk back to him. It seemed to say, I'll make you pay for this. That guy… Really had anger issues.

**_MIMICRY_**

"You think you're tough shit, Deku?!" Bakugou called.

School had ended and I, as a card carrying member of the go home club was leaving, headed off to the train station. Bakugou had, after that shit show of an orientation period, proceeded to glare at me all throughout the day. Something I had ignored with the composure that could only come from butting heads with him in the same sort of situation for years.

So I did what I normally did in response to a crazed shout of indignation from an aggro teen with the power to blow things up. Gave Bakugou a sidelance glance and continued walking. Trailing just behind Bakugou were a gaggle of boys who, as teenaged boys, were compelled to seek out and observe any potentially violent confrontation. Some were Bakugou's regular troupe, the kids who were his groupies masquerading as 'friends'- including the winged boy who had aided Bakugou the day my quirk manifested in kindergarten. I had never forgotten that day, nor anyone involved.

I made it a few steps off before the hairs on the back of my neck prickled and I stepped to the side, just as an explosive blast of flame passed by where my head would have been. This looked to be one of those, 'You aren't going to walk away from me, Deku' days. I sighed exasperatedly.

"What the fuck do you want now, Bakugou?" I asked, ticked off.

"What do I want?! What do I want?! What do you think you're doing, applying to Yuei?! You knew I was going to apply!" bits of spit flew from Bakugou's mouth and his hands twitched, a sure sign that he was ready to begin exploding things indiscriminately. Why he hadn't seen it coming was beyond me. It wasnt like I had kept it a secret. I had only told him I would be going to Yuuei Academy a thousand times.

"You're going to go hoarse, you know. I'm right infront of you, asshole. Stop shouting."

"You bastard… You think you're better than me?!"

I had absolutely zero fear of Bakugou. Not anymore. His threats and hollering did little but annoy me. "At what? You're going to need to be more specific. I've got better grades, for example. And I'm definitely a lot better at knowing when shouting is appropriate and when it's just irritating." I said blandly, internally happy to piss off Bakugou as much as possible.

Bakugou thrust his left palm out. I had already begun moving as soon as I saw his hand move. The explosion shot off, wider and less concentrated than his earlier attempt. It was in game terms, an area of effect technique and in such close proximity was all but impossible to dodge. Thankfully I got out of the way of most of the attack and it did nothing but cause some superficial damage to my school uniform and shove me back a bit. Not enough to send me sprawling, at least. That had been little more than a warning shot though. If Bakugou became really serious, as it seemed he was bubbling towards, then there would be serious property damage. Along with a lot of broken bones and third-degree burns.

Of course, I could become really serious too.

"Dont try being clever with me, nerd. You know what the fuck I'm talking about."

"No, I really dont. Yuuei accepts anyone good enough to make the cut. They have a set amount of students they'll accept, that's true, but if you think getting one student to not pitch up to the entrance exam is going to drastically increase your odds then you're an idiot. Unless you were planning to intimidate every prospect in the hopes that you'll be passed through by default?"

Bakugou turned red. Well… Redder. "That's not true! You know that's not true, useless bastard! I'll have no trouble blasting through the exam. With a quirk like mine it'll be a walk in the park! I dont want you to tarnish my reputation by association. With a guy like you failing the test they might decide to mark me more harshly, since we're from the same school."

I shot him a taunting smirk. "Ahh… Now I see… You say that you're worried I'll lower your odds of passing, but I think the real reason you dont want me to participate is that you know I'll outshine you."

Bakugou turned quiet, staring at the ground coolly. "… Say that again."

Oh, here we go. Looks like I might be having some fun now. Fighting Bakugou was only worth it when he was serious which, despite his blustering, was not all that often. At most once or twice a week. "I said, you're scared that I'll make your attempts look pathetic in comparison. I'll blow your results so far out the water they'll wonder how we're even part of the same species, let alone coming from the same school."

The gathered students sucked in a collective breath.

"… You'd better get ready for a fight, Deku. I'm going to blow you to bits."

My smirk widened. I felt at the quirks of the gathered students, using a technique I had dubbed my Quirk Field. A facet of my quirk that allowed me to feel the quirks of those around me within range. I thought of it as a bubble that centred on me and encompassed a set area. It was hard to explain just what it was like to 'feel' a quirk. I could tell the distance and size of quirked individuals within my field yes, but when I probed or focused on any one quirk in particular, especially unfamiliar ones, there was little way to predict exactly what I would sense. It was common for a picture of a coloured orb of light to come to mind, along with a vague sense of the scope of the power. But sometimes I would see objects or symbols, paintings or animals. Sometimes even short memories of the quirk being used.

They were all students I had seen around before though and so their quirks were already pre-programmed, thankfully. But what to choose… And how many? It took me a few seconds to think of a suitable package to combat Bakugou. Something flashy and effective, but not too familiar. This wasn't our first rodeo, not by a longshot.

I pulled at my tie and tugged off my blazer, tossing it aside. Unbuttoning my shirt, I kept my gaze on Bakugou who stared with a furious expression. I knew from past experience that he would wait for me to get ready before attacking but I wasnt so lax as to rely on past experience. Folding my shirt and tucking it into my school bag I stretched out my arms and rolled my shoulders. I was not the greatest physical specimen. My skin was pallid and unhealthy looking, the bones of my ribcage clearly visible. I looked like a person a month into a protest fast, somewhat anorexic and as though it were a miracle a strong gust of wind hadn't already picked me up and carried me away. None of the boys laughed at my appearance though. They knew better. Regarding Bakugou, I said "Mind if I take a second to warm up?"

"… Whatever." Bakugou said dismissively.

My back bubbled and twisted for a moment and then two glorious wings burst free. Completely unlike the first time I'd grown them the wings were fully functional and looked strong, also unlike the wings of the kid I had based them on they were not at all leathery like a pterodactyl's but feathered and angelic. Or they would look like the near perfect replicas of the angel wings painted in christian church murals if they werent a shimmery black in colour. I thought black suited me better. Making my wings flap I reveled in the familiar ease of operating multiple sets of musculature that had not been there moments before. Flying like a bird was to me like riding a bike. Once you got it down you never really forgot.

I raised my left arm in the air, palm up. A fiery explosion, stronger than any Bakugou had yet demonstrated this afternoon, erupted at a thought. Raising the right next, I watched intently as my right hand seemed to disappear, in its place a thick haze of hot steam shot up with a hiss. Stone grew over my torso, moulding itself to my shape like armour and continuing upward and over my mouth, stopping just beneath my nose. Like my wings the stone was dark and aesthetically pleasing. I, it must be said, tended toward flashy displays of my power. It was, in my opinion, the only thing Bakugou and I had in common.

"Damned Copycat." Bakugou hissed "You ready yet, Deku? I'm not going to wait forever, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this started. My train will be arriving in twenty minutes so I'm going to have to wrap this up quickly, sorry."

"Tch. Dead people dont need to worry about public transport."

Their parts said, Bakugou and I rushed at the other, fists raised.

"Stop! Stop fighting!" Shouted a high pitched voice insistently.

Thinking it may be a teacher come to send them off to the principal's office and have their parents called us would-be brawlers paused. Neither Bakugou or I cherished the thought of having our parents called, if for different but similar reasons. I hated it when my mom tried her infuriating brand of doting parenting. Instead of being a teacher it was another student, a third year from Class B. An effeminate boy with shimmery hair grown shaggy, looking suspiciously like my own style. The boy was sweating and panting, having run from who knows where on the school grounds upon word of the potential fight reaching him.

Incensed at the interruption, Bakugou rounded on the boy jabbing a finger in his direction. "And just what the fuck are you doing, huh?! Cant you see we're trying to fight over here, you damn extra!"

Instead of cowering like any of the other students, and perhaps anyone with the common sense to identify a violent, grudge-bearing individual would have, the boy foolishly stood his ground. "You arent going to hurt Midoriya-san."

Did this guy not know who I was? It wasnt possible. My fame, or rather my infamy, was well known. No Musutafu resident would think me someone who needed protecting. I felt my anger bubble at the mere thought.

Bakugou's eyes widened in disbelief. There was a rush of movement, a bang! And a pause followed by a thump as the boy hit the ground. The assembly of onlookers watched as the subject of Bakugou's anger cluched at his stomach and began to cough up blood, gasping for breath.

"That'll teach you to talk trash to me, idiot!" Bakugou said, full of bravado. But I could tell in the tightening of his eyes and the slight shiver that ran down his back that he was disturbed. His outburst had seemed unflinchingly aggressive, but I had caught the slight shakiness that crept in too. People who had the balls to stand up to Bakugou, few though they were, tended to be made of sterner stuff. A blow like that wasn't usually enough to have someone like that out of commission and Bakugou had never done quite so much damage so quickly. He didnt know how to respond.

Bakugou regarded me. "Fight's over. Seeing as how this kid was trying to protect your honour you can take him up to the infirmary. Teach him how to mind his better's on the way. You should really try to train your underlings better, Deku."

I had not paid any attention to the speech. I knew pretty much exactly what Bakugou was going to say as soon as I saw his reaction to the downed boy, and so had begun putting my clothes back on my now wingless body. Tying a windsor knot and loosely draping my blazer over a shoulder I regarded Bakugou.

"…No." I said "If he was stupid enough to interrupt the fight and become collateral damage he can see himself to the nurse. I have no idea who he is anyway." I wasn't about to help out some idiot who thought I needed protecting.

"I-izuku- san…" the boy muttered, teary eyed.

I didn't look back.

**_MIMICRY_**

Despite taking the train I had planned to I did not head straight home. I suppose it would be more accurate to say that instead of being a member of the go home club I was instead a member of the leave school asap club. I didnt like being home. The atmosphere was always tense and eerily quiet. Instead I roamed the streets aimlessly. By now I was certain I could navigate the streets and alleys of Musutafu blindfolded, without hitting a single street-sign or lamp-post. Because of that I paid little attention to my surroundings and instead directed my attention, as I often did, to the portable gaming system held in my hands. I loved video games and I was pretty damn good at them. Right now I was playing Dragon Adventure IX, a role-playing game set in a world of magic and fantasy. I should have paid more attention to the world around me, though.

I felt it, or rather him before I saw him. His quirk felt unlike any I had ever come across before, like jello. Or a notion of jello at the least. Something not quite liquid, not quite solid. "Lucky, a highschooler. I'll take you and your quirk hostage then. Just stay right there and it'll all be over before you know it." the sound came from a giant sludge monster, an eight foot tall monstrous mass of green slime with a sharp-toothed mouth and eyes twisted into an expression of delight. How the sound was made without, seemingly, any vocal cords was a mystery.

I narrowed my eyes, a slight panic rose in my chest. "Stay back. I have a dangerous quirk." I said, trying to remain as calm as possible. The truth to my words far from making the slime creature back off rather had him grin satisfyingly.

"That's even better!" It said raspily "I'll make sure to put it to good use, kid."

It rushed forward, moving much faster than any glorified blob of animated slime had a right to. Despite the fact that I knew my way around a fight and had rather good reflexes I couldnt outrun it, not as out of shape as I was. I was lean, yes. That much was true. But it was the unhealthy sort of lean. The kind where running anywhere and for any length of time would have you wheezing for breath. My surprise at being so swiftly attacked didnt help either and all too soon I was caught in the slime monster's body, unable to breathe or fight back. I didnt dare to attempt using my quirk to copy it's quirk, hadnt even paused to consider the most remote possibility of it. The pain involved with turning my bones, flesh and blood into slime would have killed me regardless, seeing as I had never had a chance to acclimate myself with this quirk.

And dying, as I was pretty sure I was on my way to doing, was painful enough without feeling your body slowly liquify. Indeed I doubt attempting it, even without the associated pain that always came with a new quirk, would have saved me. The process would have taken too long, long enough that I would have passed out or been too out if it to free myself.

"Ahh… Looks like you weren't kidding about having a powerful quirk! I can sense it's strength. Strange that I cant figure out what it is…"

Even caught in the foul tasting confines of it's body my eyes widened in surprise. He could sense my quirk. That meant that his quirk, or part of it at least, was similar to my own. He could get a vague sense of the quirks of those within his body and, using highly specialized chemical secretions and adept control of his own physical structure, take control of that person, both body and quirk. At least, that's what my mind supplied at the moment. Where I had gotten the information was a mystery. Likely my quirk had subconciously filtered it to me, but it may have been more likely that I had read about this villain online somewhere and couldnt clearly recall it. For a moment I felt a sense of comradery as two people with a similar quirk. That was overshadowed by the panic, fear and bewilderment I felt knowing I was going to die. There were no other quirks nearby, my loner tendencies had driven me to prefer walking around on my own in quiet, empty places and my attitude combined with my quirk made other people want to stay away.

"Well, if I cant figure out your quirk you'll at least be a good hostage!" The slime creature called.

Then I could suddenly breath again, the slime having shifted to make a mouth opening. I gasped for air, suddenly all too aware at how important air was to my health. I felt like writing it an apology for thinking it so trivial all these years.

"My bad, my bad. Sometimes I forget that you normals need to breathe! At least I havent accidentally suffocated anyone today."

His words were garbled through the slime but I could still make them out and feel myself bristle with anger. I tried desperately to get out but I could barely move at all, my thin noodly arms unable to do more than move an inch or too. "Struggle all you want, kid." The slime monster said, then barked a laugh.

Was this it? Wasn't I supposed to be stronger than this? Wasn't I the one with the better quirk? So why couldnt I break free, why couldnt I break free from this nameless, insignificant villain's clutches? I was being forced to be a hostage to a man who clearly had no misgivings against killing, who'd already nearly done me in without meaning to.

Another quirk suddenly flashed into my area of control. I had a brief glimpse in my head of a fist being punched forward and instantly carving a giant scar into the landscape before a blur of yellow and red filled my vision and I was dropped to the floor, free of the slime creature's grasp. I scrambled to my feet. In the scant few moments it had taken me to go from being freed and getting back to my feet the slime monster had been reduced to splotches of goo. Even as I watched they began slowly, languidly creeping towards eath other, attempting to congeal once more into a singular mass. They never got a chance to. That same red and yellow blur darted all over and within seconds there was no slime to be seen. Instead there stood a tall, glorious figure with spiky golden hair and the biggest, toothiest smile on his face. It was a smile that put all my worries to the side.

"Never fear, for I am here!" All Might, the greatest hero ever, boomed in a deep voice.

Despite myself, I was starstruck. I had lost much of my fanboyish tendencies over the years and no longer viewed most heroes with a fervent, quasi-religious awe but this was All Might. I had watched any and all of his recorded heroics and interviews since before my quirk had even manifested. He was my hero, my idol.

"A- All Might… I cant believe it…"

All Might gave a thumbs up. "Well, try your best! It's really me, in the flesh. I am deeply sorry for taking so long to arrive, young man. I was taken unprepared and the criminal used that moment to escape into the sewer. Forgive me for my shameful mistake."

He bowed slightly, and I felt the embarassment flood my cheeks. "W-what? No, you saved me from that thing. That was amazing! How could I be upset that you saved me? What could I ever do to repay you!?"

All Might scratched his head, as though flustered at the compliment. "Thank you. But it is a hero's job to prevent civilians like you from getting involved in issues like this. Had I been more attentive this criminal would have been apprehended without ever having had a chance to get to you. The only possible payment I could accept is that you please accept my apology."

"A-apology accepted."

All Might smiled wider. "Well then, I must be off. A hero can never rest on his laurels, so long as there are people yet to save. Goodbye, young man!"

"Wait!" I called out, arm reaching out at the retreating figure. "Please!"

All Might stopped and turned.

"There's something I've always wanted to ask you, ever since I awakened my quirk. Please…" I asked.

"Well, I really am in a hurry… But what type of hero would I be if I didnt at least attempt to answer a young man I wronged? Ask your question, and if I can answer I will."

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I was really about to do it, I was really about to ask my hero a question I had been wanting to ask for years. "With power like yours, with absolute power… Why do you settle for so little?"

All Might's smile disappeared. "What?"

"I mean, with power like yours why dont you demand more? You have the power to topple skyscrapers, to bring down mountains. Why dont you demand more?"

All Might frowned at me "I am not sure what you mean."

"You are very well known, especially in Japan. The Symbol of Peace. The only thing holding back a torrent of crime and violence. And I'm sure you've made a decent amount of money off your heroics. But why dont you demand more? With your overwhelming power nobody could deny you. You could make yourself ruler of Japan or even create your own empire. You could force political change for the better. You could do and have anything you desire. So why dont you?"

"What you're saying, what you're describing… That's not a hero. That's a dictator. No man should be allowed to force his will on a people. Any man who does is a monster." There was a strong conviction behind All Might's words. It sounded like something personal, not intellectual.

I waved my hands in what I thought was a calming manner. "I-I'm not saying that you would do anything terrible. But you're a good person. You're strong and kind-hearted. You know better than the politicians in power. You could make decisions that would make the world a better place, and you could do it rapidly."

"Every dictator, every cruel leader has had the conviction that they knew better. What is your name, youngster?"

"Izuku, Izuku Midoriya."

"I take it you want to be a hero?"

"Y-yes sir, All Might."

"Then know that the job of a true hero isn't to demand that others follow his every whim. The job of a true hero is to serve others, to do everything in their power to make this world a better place. To follow the laws of the people, even if he disagrees with some."

I frowned. "That can't be true. Other people, regular people. They dont have the ability to make intelligent decisions. They need to be saved from themselves. I think the job of a hero should be to make them do what's best for them, whether they like it or not."

The air seemed to turn cold, All Might's blue eye's icy with displeasure. "People like you, who look down on others… I think it may be better if people like you dont become heroes."

**I lost all editing done to this chapter upon uploading it and will be going back to fix it up when I have time. If there are any egregious errors, spelling mistakes or the like please let me know and I'll do my best to fix it up. Hope you've enjoyed this first chapter.**

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	2. Chapter 2

All Might ran off in a blur of yellow and red, leaving me alone in the underpass. I stood dumbstruck, eyes wide. I thought for a moment that I had seen smoke start to rise from my idol's massively muscled body before he left, but that was probably my mind short-circuiting as a result of just being told off by him. wasn't cut out to be a hero, didn't have what it took. That's what he said. Bakugou's frequent retorts came to mind- that I would never be a hero- and I clenched my fists in anger.

Who did he think he was, telling me off?

The rational, calculating voice in my head reminded me that he was the greatest hero the world had ever seen, a hero so strong that the four remaining heroes who made up the rest of the top five couldn't take him down in a fight even if they teamed up. He was also the man I looked up to more than anyone- I was personally responsible for no less than a hundred views on every one of the better captured footage of All Might in the midst of his heroics. I had a giant poster of him plastered on my bedroom wall, All Might dolls all over the room.

My feet carried me forward shakily, moving as though they had a mind of their own. I caught a glimpse of myself in a storefront window. My eyes were red and tears had budded in their corners. I looked pathetic. Forcing myself out of the slump my shoulders had fallen into, I rubbed at my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. I'd have to wash it later, doubly so after getting blasted. It was amazing this shirt had lived through all I'd put it through.

A shattered jar caught my attention. It lay on the sidewalk, already somewhat out of place on the normally immaculately well-kept streets of Musutafu. But the jar caught my eye for a reason unrelated to the the cleanliness of the city, I had just seen this exact jar attached to All Might's hip just minutes before, full of green slime. Green slime that had made up the body of the slime criminal who had nearly ended me, forcefully compressed. There was no slime to be seen. Could I just be projecting? Jars were pretty common after all, and even though All Might's jar hadn't looked like anything special it had somehow managed to remain intact under what must have been significant pressure. There was nothing to definitively say that this was the same jar.

Badoom-boom! An explosion rang out, as though directly in response to my train of thought. My head snapped up and I felt lifted from the fog of depression that had settled over me.

I ran towards the sound, hoping against hope that my suspicions would prove baseless. The explosion had come from a street nearby, three blocks from the underpass. I was coughing and wheezing when I made it, getting side glances from the gathered bystanders. There were around twenty of them, mainly elderly gentleman and middle-aged housewives, the type of people who didn't have a job and thought dangerous confrontations between violent criminals and local heroes was a fun distraction from their monotonous routines. A live action sequence, as it were. They were being held back by a hastily erected barricade, peering out beyond a disapproving hero who's sour frown said 'You all shouldn't be here, this close to a dangerous situation, but I cant really do anything about it so I'll just express my frustrations through my body language'. Or maybe he didnt think anything like that and I was just projecting. Maybe he just had resting bitch face, whose to say?

My suspicions were, unfortunately, proven true. The slime monster-man was gleefully stalking about the tight alleyway, pretty much ignoring everyone around him as he threw out explosions, testing the limits of the quirk he had stolen. There were three other heroes in the alley with him, eying him disdainfully but doing little else. Well, that was pretty unfair. They were doing their best to contain the destruction but were held in a stalemate, their powers not all that suitable to face a gelatinous opponent, especially one holding a hostage. I took a deep breath when I recognized the slime monster's captive. Bakugou. Yes, Bakugou and I weren't the best of friends, at least not anymore. I thought he was an arrogant bully and he felt inferior at my power. At least, that's what I thought. But that didn't mean I wanted something like this to happen to him, the whole scene made me feel sick. I had been held captive by this same monster less than an hour ago, I was all too aware of how it felt to be trapped like that.

Bakugou noticed me. His mouth was held open in an expression of terror and he was crying. I didn't hold it against him. An immense frustration filled me, frustration at the gaggle of heroes just watching all of this play out. Weren't they supposed to be saving him? Weren't they supposed to be heroes?!

One hero was using his control over water to douse the flames flaring up in response to Bakugou's manipulated quirk. Kamui Woods, the quickly rising star rescued people from the combusting buildings whilst steering far clear of the fiery explosions. As someone all but made of wood, fires must have been a terrifying thing to deal with. Two more heroes were melee types, heroes proficient in hand to hand combat and with quirks that complimented those skills but as a result they would be all but worthless in this scenario, simply standing in the middle of the street and doing about as much as the civilians held behind the barricades. And to round out the pathetic showing was Mt. Lady, in giant form and watching it all play out from the entrance into the too narrow one way street. I didnt think my morning analysis of her quirk would have proven prophetic.

I glanced back at Bakugou, concluding that none of these heroes were going to be any help at all. He must have seen a look in my eyes that said as much because his expression became even more forlorn, he seemed to be pleading, praying for help.

I ran toward him, ducking under the barricade. Fuck it. I had to do something.

Fingers grazed my shoulder as I ran. "Hey kid— what are you doing!" I didn't stop or even look back at the sour-faced hero.

I barely looked at anything at all. All I could see was the slime monster, gleefully experimenting with my classmate's quirk by blowing apart a street and Bakugou's pained expression- now tinged with disbelief- as he tried unsuccessfully to free himself. The slime monster's body looked less like a single gelatinous blob now and more like a tangled mess of tentacles. Like when he had begun re-assimilating himself after an epic beat-down by All Might, the slime monster proved to have tremendous control over his body, manipulating it ways that could not be possible without a ridiculously powerful semi-liquid quirk.

They, these gathered heroes, could have done something, could have worked out a plan to free Bakugou from the monster's clutches if they worked in concert but instead they were content to wait and see if another hero with a more compatible quirk would arrive, leaving Bakugou to suffer in the meantime. And I wasnt certain that Bakugou would be able to last long enough and so, to save him I was going to fight this crazed criminal for the second time. This time would be rather different though.

This time I was surrounded by over thirty people, people with a wide array of differing quirks. It was like an all you could eat quirk buffet.

I picked out my quirks mid-stride and started the conversion. In the many years I'd had this quirk my control had improved to the point that I could localise quirks to set areas of my body, like how I had copied Bakugou's quirk in one hand and Yama's steam control in the other. I could even slow the conversion down or, as was now necessary, speed it up. Swiftness came at a steep price though- incredible, nigh-unbearable pain. The wind was forced from my lungs as if I'd been punched in the gut and when the air was forced from my mouth droplets of blood spattered onto the street. Despite that I didn't stop, spinning on my heel I slung off my backpack and in one smooth move hurled it at the slime monster's head. Or what amounted for a head when you were a slimy blob.

As planned, I caught his attention and he paused. He didnt so much turn as have his eyes and mouth come through the other side with faint plop's. He was surprised to see me. "You?" he asked, question incoherent. "You're really starting to irritate me kid. Get lost or-"

He was interrupted when I shot a tree-trunk through his face. My right arm, my good arm, was now nearly completely wooden like Kamui Woods's and one of my fingers had lengthened with nothing more than a thought. It had been my middle finger. That may not be all that pertinent a note, but it needed to be said all the same. The quirk was easy enough to control but it left my arm feeling a bit weird. It felt sort of like I'd fell asleep on it, slightly numb and harder to manipulate.

The slime monster growled a moment later when his eyes and mouth returned. "I'll kill you!"

"You'll try." I said in response, sounding more confident than I actually was. My body still trembled with pain.

Bakugou launched an explosion at me with both hands, his arms manipulated by deceptively strong tendrils of slime. That the slime monster had already figured out how to use Bakugou's stronger attacks was impressive— but the slime monster wasn't the only one to have gotten an understanding of the explosion quirk. I had copied Bakugou's quirk hundreds of times in the past ten years since my quirk's emergence and by now using it felt nearly as natural as using my own. The only person in the world who had a better grasp of Bakugou's quirk than I did was Bakugou himself. I clasped my hands together, palms touching slightly and fingers forward facing. My explosion and Bakugou's own all but counteracted the other, cancelling out most of the damage. I was still hit by some of the blast but a minor enhanced durability quirk copied from a faceless member of the crowd rendered what would have been minor broken bones and a light concussion to a mere bright flash.

Explosions however, as a general rule, were not so predictable as to politely push through a single direction. No, explosions expanded outward. Screams came from either side, two storefronts having been blown apart and set alight. The growing flames came from Bakugou, the slime monster not capable of the same sort of fine control Bakugou and I had in altering the chemical nature of his quirk to reduce or alter it's fiery nature. Or, possibly, he didnt care about minimizing collateral damage. The slime monster wasnt exactly proving to be a model citizen.

Thankfully the hero who had a water manipulation quirk was on it in moments, dousing the little flames before they could set the street alight. In an area as closely and tightly packed as this one fires could quickly grow to be raging monstrosities, reducing streets to smouldering rubble. I nodded at the hero and he, almost imperceptibly, nodded back.

The slime monster made to use Bakugou's quirk again and I quickry extended my wooden fingers to grab his arms and force them skyward as Bakugou's hands glowed and then let out an explosion straight up and into the sky. The trail of fire and light that the explosion created grew three stories higher than any of the buildings on either side, significantly more powerful than the previous blast. Not only did Bakugou's quirk grow more powerful the longer a fight lasted - because the more Bakugou built up a sweat the more material he had to explode- but the slime monster had noticed my own focusing gesture and partially mimicked it.

I waved my right arm in quick strokes like a crazed concert conductor, and with each stroke my vines vines grew and twisted, wrapping around Bakugou. Sweat dripped from my brow. The vines twisted around Bakugou, easily penetrating the slime monster's body but not doing him any damage. The slime monster, catching on to my intentions, began moving away but my vines simply followed, too fast and too numerous to be denied. When Bakugou was firmly secured and I was certain that he couldn't by pried away by I raised my arm straight up then slammed it down, the many vines holding Bakugou following my control and pinning Bakugou securely to the ground, driving themselves securely into the ground. Bakugou was safe.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Y-you stupid brat… Do you realize what you've done?" The slime monster asked. His tone was panicked, as was the look on his face. Then he charged at me, his slime letting go of Bakugou, realizing that any struggle to pry Bakugou loose of the vines would be pointless. That he wasn't vindictive enough to try smothering Bakugou was I believed less that he was a caring individual and more that he realized I could, and would have, used an explosion to force him off. For all that slime was rather difficult to meaningfully damage conventionally an explosion could still prove devastating. "I'll just have to take your body for my revenge, then!"

All it would take for the slime monster to follow through on his words was to swallow me up. I wouldn't be able to physically fight him off if that happened and instead of only being able to use a single- though powerful- quirk he would have access to the four I had copied. That would, naturally, put things worse off. So the slime monster charged forward, faster than he had moved in the fight so far. It may have been enough to catch me off guard if not for two things. One, I had seen how fast he could move back at the underpass, when he had nearly suffocated me. And two, of those four quirks I had mimicked one was proving significantly useful. Super Reflexes.

So when the slime monster tried swallowing me up I stepped nimbly to the side, letting the green body pass me by without a single trace of panic. Super Reflexes didn't allow me to see every movement in slow motion- though that would have been pretty cool too. All it did was speed up the transmission of thought impulse to response movement many-fold, so that my responses were seamless and faster than even the best martial artists could hope to be. In fact it barely felt as if I was moving myself. It felt as though my limbs were being moved for me, responding to my surroundings the very moment I noticed something. Every swipe, every bodily tackle attempted by the slime monster was dodged in dramatic fashion. The crowd, civilian and hero included, gaped in astonishment. I noted several camera flashes by those with the foresight to pull out their phones. The prideful smile that tugged at my lips refused to obey my commands of settling back down.

I had released my hold on Bakugou to retract my arm- it would have been too easy a target otherwise- and Kamui rushed in to get the coughing Bakugou to safety.

"Argh!" The slime monster roared in frustration, growing panicked in his attempts to hit me. It made his moves sloppy, easier to dodge. It also gave me an opening. I immediately exploited it, as a tendril passed wide with a graceful twist of my heel I blasted him in the face with a slap. The slap itself would not do any damage by itself, not without near All-Might levels of physical strength, but with Bakugou's explosion quirk it removed a chunk of his slime and splattered it across the tarred road and store windows. The scattered bits of slime were still for a moment, then began slowly trecking back to the main body. That meant that, in spite of what I'd thought earlier, he didn't need to actively control his body when reduced to splatters. It made more sense that he didn't, to be honest. Droplets of slime shouldn't have the faculties necessary to co-ordinate movement. But still, the blown-off slime was slow.

After having me remove a chunk of his body the slime monster had grown even more panicked, and so he was leaving me more and more opportunities to counterattack. The many limb- like tendrils of slime he used to attack me with should have made it impossible for me not to get hit and taken out of commission but my borrowed super-human reflexes helped a lot. And I blocked any tendrils that slipped through my reflexes with a flick of my wrist, a root growing to intercept them or a light explosion blowing them to bits.

My counter-blasts grew in frequency as time passed, going from a single retaliation every ten to fifteen attacks to having me trade blow for attempted blow. Even though slime re-attached themselves to the main body they weren't fast enough to keep up with the rate of removal, and as we fought the slime monster shrunk from a seven-foot high menacing figure that towered above me to a barely four- foot tall pudge-ball I looked down at imperiously.

The slime monster came to the realization that he had lost. In a last ditch effort to escape he flattened himself into a slimy puddle and tried to slither off into a nearby drain. I swiped my arm and a branch cut off his escape route.

"No!" The slime monster screamed with despair. His voice was no longer a deep and gargly sound. Now it sounded more high-pitched, more childish. Combine the voice with his oversized eyes and I nearly felt sorry for the pathetic, but now weirdly cute, creature. But he was a criminal, he had nearly killed both Bakugou and I just today. Who knew what he had done before, what he would do if I let him escape?

"Kamui!" I called, trying to make my fourteen year old voice as commanding as I possibly could. "Close him in! We need to contain the damage!"

I heard Kamui snort over the sounds of the crowd. That there was already significant damage to the street was implied. But Kamui complied anyway, and two thick tree-trunks grew outward, each almost half as wide as a sedan and nearly scraping the buildings alongside. I thought that Kamui had been slightly butt hurt that I'd managed some rather impressive maneuvering with his quirk and was now showing me that he was still the master of the Arbor quirk. The slime monster had nowhere to run but away, though he tried anyway. But he was now running in a funnel.

Not needing to worry about collateral damage now, I used the same double-handed blast that had neutralized Bakugou's own. Without Bakugou's naturally more powerful explosions to compete against and with the added benefit of being channeled in a single direction the attack was devastating. The road was carved up, tar blown sky high almost fifty feet out, revealing a jagged scar of sub-base. The smatterings of the slime monster were so far apart and so small that it took a few minutes before enough of them had joined up to become clearly visible.

One of the heroes, half of the martial-arts pair, scooped up the slime using equipment borrowed from a half-ruined ice-cream parlor. He dished the slime- balls into gallon tubs of ice-cream and passed them off to the hero who had been taking care of the fires who taped them closed and carried them to a pile I had only just noticed. They must have started helping me out while I'd been focused on dodging and damaging the reckless slime monster. I still thought that I'd have been able to take him out without their help, but it would have taken a while longer and I guess that another fifteen minutes of battle wouldn't have been all that great for the surrounding property.

They needed a lot more volume to contain the slime monster. However All Might had managed to compress the villain into a single jar earlier it was obviously a feat of strength far out of our reach.

A hand pressed on my shoulder. "Hey kid! What you did there was completely and utterly reckless!" The second of the two martial arts users, and presumably the more important of the two seeing as he hadn't been roped into cleanup duty, was a tall muscular man with a serious expression. Well, at the least he had a serious expression now and it didnt seem at all unfamiliar on his block-ish features.

"Huh?" I muttered. Was this guy really, honestly scolding me for doing his job for him? The nerve of some people…

"Not only was it completely and utterly reckless, it was also illegal! Highly illegal!" He stopped to stare at me, waiting for my input. No doubt he thought I would taciturnly agree.

I did not. "Am I supposed to take advice from someone wearing a cardigan with no undershirt for hero work? How can I be expected to take advice from someone wearing that?"

"Huh? T-there's nothing wrong with my hero costume!" Death Arm's argued, flustered.

I lifted a hand to my face, counting out each of my points as I made them. "First, hero gear is supposed to help someone make better use of their powers. Yours clearly doesn't. Next, you've decided for some reason that sticking caution patterns on your sleeves, headband and belt was a good idea. I thought heroes were supposed to make civilians feel welcome, not as though they're in danger of slipping on a wet floor or dropping through an open manhole. Third, leaving your abs and chest exposed to the world may be considered a mild form of public indecency. Fourth, what do you do when it's cold? Head indoors and wait for better weather?" I deliberately paused for a response and gave an expectant look, just so he knew I was deliberately mimicking him… Maybe I was a deliberately antagonistic individual?

No. That couldnt be true.

Death Arms face grew redder and redder with each point. "Now you listen here! My perfectly acceptable hero costume is not the subject of discussion! It's illegal for anyone without a hero permit to use their quirks in public. Don't you understand how much trouble you're in?!"

"Hey, leave the kid alone!" The civilians, now free to enter the area after Kamui had removed the temporary blockades, were now hurrying towards Death Arms and I. Near the front a balding, middle-aged gentleman was stabbing a finger towards death arms in protest. "You're giving him trouble after he saved that kid and stopped the bad guy? What's your problem!" the middle aged gentleman continued

I grinned at the chorus of agreement's that followed from the rest of the gathering people. It seems that I'd be getting away from it all scot-free. With a case like this, upsetting the civilians by lampooning the apparent hero of the day was career suicide. Being a hero in this modern day was still, by and large, a popularity contest.

"Well… I guess I can overlook it this time… You did help us out a lot back there." Death Arms said, just as I'd thought he would. And what did he mean by 'helping them out'? I'd done pretty much everything! They had been little more than a glorified emergency response team.

I looked around, and hoped that all these shopkeepers were insured, because their stores and street had taken a real beating. Well, superficially at least. Many of the storefronts had been blown to shattered glass and smoky rubble but there hadn't been any significant structural damage. No one was going to have to rebuild, but most were going to need a repair crew. Business would be held up for a week at most in the worst cases, the buildings closer to the front of the street where the slime monster had started his rampage before Kamui or any of the other heroes could arrive, or business could resume in a day or two if they got a specialty building team out.

A flash of light from one of the buildings set me to blinking, trying to get rid of the phantom spots that floated in my vision. Another flash of light followed just as I thought I could see properly again, this flash coming from my left. Then another flash. Then another. Soon I could only hear a rapid click-click-click of camera flashes and then the high pitched calls of journalists vying for my attention, a cacophony of nosy voices trying to out-squeal the others so that they could adjoin their news stories with 'an exclusive from us here at your favorite news channel'.

"Hey kid! Over here! How did you manage to take down a villain like that on your own!"

"Excuse me! Carmelia from CJN News here! Have you received any special hero training? Were you scoped out by a hero after word of your amazing quirk got out to them?"

"What exactly does your quirk do? Some of the observers seem to be under the opinion that you actually copied their quirks! Is that true?!"

"That's impossible!" interjected another of the reporter's, a short stout man with a bushy mustache "A quirk like that would have been national news! An unstoppable, unlimited quirk! It just cant be possible!"

The questions were too fast, too disjointed for me to follow let alone attempt to answer. The flashes of their commercial grade cameras had slowed to a crawl as they switched to taking videos but my eyes still stung and I could barely see a thing. I was getting disoriented and really annoyed too.

"No comment!" A loud, powerful voice cut through the journalistic din.

All the journalists stopped, recognition flashing in their eyes. Everyone recognized that voice.

"Why, you ask? Well, because I am here!" All Might boomed, hands on his sides and chest jutting out proudly. A beaming smile came to his face when he caught my eye, a far cry from the cold look he had given me earlier. I felt a happiness in my stomach.

"All Might! Could it be that this boy is your disciple?!" Carmelia asked, a glint in her eye.

Gasps followed as the rest of the reporters processed the potential of such juicy news reaching the public. A scoop they'd probably call it.

"… No comment." All Might said, actually slightly flustered. The raven haired woman had managed to worm her way through the throng to stand right in-front of him, nose nearly touching All Might's chest as she peered up at him with what I knew was a menacing look. She took her job as a reporter really seriously it seemed to me.

"But then how is it that you managed to arrive just now? And it definitely seems that you know him!" Another reporter called to which several others nodded, agreeing.

"I just happened to be in the area!"

"Then how is it that you didn't manage to stop the villain already? With your speed it should have been child's play to apprehend the villain before this boy could be involved!" Carmelia asked, fake anger in her tone.

"Perhaps it was a test of some sort! All Might wanted to test his pupil with a real life villain situation but kept within range so that no-one would be seriously harmed!"

"How irresponsible!" A middle aged housewife called out, implicitly accepting the reporter's notion.

"All Might! How is it that you managed to get your pupil permission to actively fight villains without a hero license?! Should that not be against the law?"

All Might was beginning to panic now, sputtering negatives but incapable of responding to all the questions now thrown his way. Finally he'd had enough it seemed for a serious aura surrounded him and his eyes actually glowed. Now that I was feeling for it I could actually feel at his quirk. The glowing eyes and aura turned out to actually be a part of his quirk rather than a trick of the light as I'd first assumed, what it actually was though I couldn't say. I couldn't place his quirk at all. All Might had often evaded specifics regarding his quirk but rather heavily implied that it was a special strength enhancement quirk. It didn't feel anything like any strength enhancement quirk I had ever felt before. All I could sense of it was a massive energy, a tremendous, bottomless well of power. Trying to copy that quirk right then would not turn out well for me, I knew.

"No Comment!" All Might roared.

Everything went quiet. My breath caught in my throat. Everyone else must have felt the same raw power because they didn't say a word. Carmelia, who had been closest to the roar, was trembling before All Might.

All Might sighed then smiled, lifting the spell that had held us captive. "Everyone, please go about your business. And do remember to give it your all, Plus Ultra!"

Then I was lifted bodily and slung over a broad shoulder. In one step All Might had moved past all the reporters and grabbed me, with another step, a one legged bound executed with an almost bored air, All Might and I were atop a five-story building halfway down the street.

"Huh?! Where did he go? All Might, he was just here!" Carmelia called out

"The kid, he's gone too!"

All Might paid no attention to the outcry of the reporters. "Where do you live, young Midoriya?" he asked

Even bewildered as I was I managed to stammer out my address.

Then All Might took off and the buildings and streets whirled by in a blur of mixing colors. I felt the blood rushing up from my feet and towards my head, the rice balls I'd had for lunch trying to escape back up my digestive system. Then it all stopped with a sudden jolt. If All Might hadnt been holding me onto his shoulder with his arm- an arm wider across then both my legs tied together- I would have been launched from his shoulder and through a fence or something. Curse Newton's Laws.

"We're nearly there. Your home is but a block or two away. I would usually drop you right on your doorstep after an ordeal like what you went through but you seem to have taken it all rather well. What you did right there was most impressive. Very, very impressive indeed. And I wanted to have a word or two with you as well."

It took me a few moments to become settled enough to respond and All Might gave a pleasant chuckle. "I suppose I've forgotten just how disorienting people find it to be carried off like that. My apologies."

I blushed. "It's fine All Might, sir."

All Might waved me off "None of that sir stuff. Just All Might is fine."

I nodded. "Uhm… Just what was it you wanted to tell me, s- All Might?"

All Might nodded. "Yes… that. I wanted to apologize to you. It was my negligence that let the slime villain escape. Were it not for that you, and indeed that other blonde young man, would not have been in the situation you found yourselves in. I am terribly sorry for that…"

"It wasn't a problem. Really! I mean… Well… Everything turned out for the best so it's fine."

All Might bowed "Thank you. But that was only the lesser apology I have to make. Earlier today, at your first run in with that slime villain I said some things that I regret."

My mood turned sombre as I recalled exactly why I had been wandering, down-turned, so near to the street where Bakugou had been causing havoc under the slime villain's control. "Oh… That…"

"Yes. I said that people like you should not become heroes."

"I… Well… Everyone makes mistakes. You didn't mean it."

"No." All Might said firmly. "I meant it."

My heart clenched.

"Those who treat the common people as sheep, as things instead of human beings worthy of dignity and respect, they dont deserve to become heroes. And you have that mentality in you. The mentality of superiority I detest."

Tears came to my eyes again. I- I wasn't worthy of being a hero?

"But… When I saw you fighting that slime monster I caught a flash of something great. And I am not talking about your quirk and the amazing skill you showed in using it— what is your quirk, by the way? I seemed to note enhanced strength, reflexes, Kamui Woods's Arbor quirk and even that other young man's explosion quirk."

I sniffed, wiping at my reddening eyes with a scorched blazer sleeve. "M-mimicry… I can sense, copy and eventually modify quirks within a set range…"

All Might actually flinched when I said the word copy. It was barely noticeable, few would have been able to see it but I was more observant than other peopl— and there was the superiority complex rearing it's head. All Might had been right about me it seemed.

"Yes… A very powerful quirk indeed…" He coughed into a fist. "Anyway. I saw a flash of something great when you rushed into that situation without a single thought for your own well-being. It was something I could sense, something that can't be taught or faked. Something that only the greatest heroes possess."

I perked up. "What? What was it?"

All Might smiled. "That… That is something that you have to discover for yourself. And If you can discover that and nurture it… You will become a great hero indeed."

I felt overjoyed, like jumping up and down and pumping my arms in the air.

"But…" All Might added. "If you ever want to become that great hero you need to fix your mistakes and flaws. You've shown that there is a good heart inside you, the heart of a hero. To let it out you need only let go of the anger and bitterness inside. It will be the hardest thing you have ever done, but if you don't do it you will feel this way, be this hollow self for the rest of your life. And you will never become a truly great hero."

I repeated the words in my head. They had an air of finality, the feel of an ultimatum. A crossroads. I could either stay the way I was and never become a real hero or I could change, change and become great.

"I- I'll do it… I'll do it."

All Might smiled. "Thats good. Thats very good. Its easier said than done, yes, but deciding to do it is the most important part in getting it."

"It's just… I dont know where to start…"

All Might's smile widened. "And neither did I, when I first decided to commit to this life. I'll give you two clues though, two things that were instrumental in my becoming who I am today. First, make sure to have a circle of close friends and family. No one can go it alone. No matter how hard you work you will never become number one unless you have a group of people supporting you. And it doesnt have to mean having people who fight alongside you, though people like that are pretty great to have as friends too. It can be emotional support too. When you're feeling low, broken down and worn to the bone a loved one telling you that you can do it, that you have more inside you… That is the greatest performance supplement in the world."

I drank in the words. A voice in the back of my head was vehemently opposed to the notion, was screaming that people were obstacles, hindrances. I shot it down with a force of will. I was feeling rather unhappy with that voice right now.

"The second… Figure out why you want to be a hero."

"Why I want to be a hero? To do good?"

All Might shook his head. "No. Figure out exactly what you want to do, what it is that compels you to move forward, what will keep you working hard when others throw in the towel or feel like taking a break. What would you be willing to sacrifice your life for without having any regrets."

"I… I'll do my best, All Might!"

All Might made to leave but then paused, looking back at me. He stood there for a few long moments, staring at me intently. He seemed to be weighing up a heavy choice. Then he shook his head and disappeared into the distance. His voice called out one more time. "Then I'll see you at the top one day! Good luck, Midoriya-san!"

* * *

**I'm very sorry about the long wait between chapters, I had this chapter all but ready to release for weeks but couldn't seem to find the time to do the final edits. Again, if you notice any errors or inconsistencies in the story please let me know and I'll get to it as soon as I can. I feel like the fight scene between Izuku and the slime villain was rather long so I'll try to condense fight scenes in future. Also, keep in mind that Izuku's 'strength' is rather fluid in that it can vary greatly depending on the quirks around him, the combination he chooses, his familiarity with the quirk in question and several other factors that will be shown, implicitly or explicitly, in the chapters to come. I hope to update more frequently in the coming weeks, and to all who left a review, favorited or followed this story thank you very much. I put a somewhat considerable amount of effort into writing this chapter and it's really great when there are people out there who appreciate what I do, even though I am still an amateur.**

**When you have the time please consider leaving a review of this story- or any other story you've enjoyed on this site. Your positive reviews and critical feedback is what writers like me use to keep writing, to face the metaphorical dragon of the empty screen. **

**Thank you :)**


	3. Chapter 3

_"He has a quirk." The doctor bluntly said._

_My mind whirled. "But… I don't understand… How is this possible?"_

_"Your son is a late bloomer, it seems. His quirk needed some sort of impetus to come forward, it is rather uncommon but not so much as to be newsworthy. Some people have unlocked their quirks older than even he is. But I don't think any of them have exhibited a quirk this powerful… Or this complex…" The doctor, an average looking Japanese man, looked as baffled as I felt._

_My son, my Izuku had a quirk? "Doctor, I'm afraid I still don't understand, how could Izuku have a quirk? Izuku is quirkless- you're the one who said so a few months ago! You said that he had an unnecessary toe joint! That it was proof he couldn't possibly have any powers! Are you trying to tell me that was all a lie!"_

_The doctor held up his hands in apology and I felt the embarrassment rise to my cheeks for my outburst. There were people in the waiting area who'd heard that, I was sure._

_"It was a mistake on my part, Mrs Midoriya. Izuku had an extra toe joint and all the research literature shows that the chance for anyone with that extra joint having superpowers is so low as to be a minor miracle. Not only that but Izuku was already very late behind his peers in showing any signs of a quirk at all. There are usually some signs that a quirk is developing even if it hasn't awoken yet. Izuku showed nothing. There wasn't even the slightest hint that he may have a quirk. With all of that I made a diagnosis, and if any quirk doctor had a child brought in with Izuku's profile they would have had the same diagnosis. And they would have been right all but once in a billion. I exaggerate a bit of course, but I honestly don't think it is that far off the mark. In all my long years in this field this is simply the most exceptionally extra-ordinary case I've ever heard of, let alone worked on."_

_"I-im sorry doctor. I'm just really worried about my son. I didn't mean to offend."_

_I was just projecting my frustration at the situation on this poor doctor. My son was in the hospital, just barely stabilized enough to not be in critical condition all because of his awakening powers. Powers that I had told him he didn't have. And that had closed the chapter on any hope of a normal childhood for her son, what had stolen his dreams at five, what had made her start eating too much after she'd broken her little boy's heart, after she had to tell him… to tell him…_

_"That's okay Mrs Midoriya. I can understand your frustration, and I apologize for cutting you off before you could go up to Izuku's hospital room but it was very important that I explain a few things before you saw him. You're free to head to your son now, but again please keep in mind that he is still in a very fragile condition. His quirk's awakening was rather… intense to say the least. He is stable at the moment, and seems to be recovering rather better than expected in just the few hours that he's been here but it may be rather jarring to see him nonetheless."_

_I left the doctor with a quick goodbye and ran through the hospital hall's as fast as I could, ignoring the squawks of the nurses when they caught sight of me. Propriety didn't matter all that much to me at the moment._

_I stopped for a few moments outside the door of room 301, catching my breath. I didn't want Izuku to notice just how worried I was. I needed to be calm for him right now. That's what he needed. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I opened the door._

_A barely six years old Izuku sat in the hospital head. His head was bowed down and held with his little hands. He looked so fragile, sat there in the bed that my heart nearly stopped. I could clearly see his cheekbones. He hadn't been nearly so thin when he'd left for school that morning! He looked practically starved. That couldn't be normal._

_"Izuku! Are you all right honey? I rushed through to see you as soon as I got the call. Do I need to call the nurse? Do you need to eat something? I'll get you your favorite, Katsudon, okay? As soon as the doctors say you're clear to leave."_

_He didn't look up when I entered but spoke up in a quiet voice._

_"Mom, I have a quirk."_

_I started tearing up. Of course. Of course the only thing he would be worried about was that he'd gotten a quirk. "Y-yes. Yes you do, Izuku. A very strong one too. I'm so proud of you."_

_"Does this… does this mean that I can be a hero now?"_

_I cried tears of joy, sniffling out an answer. "Yes, yes of course you can! You'll definitely be a hero!"_

_Izuku started trembling. "But, you said that I couldn't. You said that I didn't have a quirk and that I would get hurt. Did you lie, mom?"_

_"N-no. I-I mean, y-yes. But I thought that you didn't have a quirk! That's what the doctor told me. But deep down I always knew you could be the greatest hero ever, Izuku!"_

_Izuku looked up and met my eyes. I took in a gasp of breath. His eyes… They seemed to glow. They were so bright… Like green gems. For a moment I thought that those eyes could see all my secrets, could pierce my soul._

_"You told me that you'd always believe in me, mom."_

_"I do! You can do anything you want to, Izuku! Mommy just made a mistake, that's all. What's wrong, Izuku? Why are you talking like this all of a sudden? This isnt like you at all." He was scaring me. He had become a lot more quiet, withdrawn, since I had- well. Since I told him that I was sorry, that he didnt have what it took to be a hero._

_"You're a liar, mom." Izuku said._

* * *

The last bits of sunlight were filtering away over the horizon by the time I made it back home. That by itself was par for the course. I was always late back, I hated being home. But this time, after All Might's words to me I had been pondering, been caught in a bit of introspection. And that had sent me to tears. The neighbors who'd seen me from between nearly-closed blinds must have been bewildered at the sight. Most of them thought I was some type of delinquent, some type of supervillain- in training. I had scoffed at the absurdity of their notions, but maybe they had seen more clearly where I was headed then I had.

All Might was right. The thought repeated in my head like a mantra and the first person who had come to mind when he had told me to let go of my anger and bitterness was my mom. I had held a grudge against her for years, I had treated her with contempt and anger for so long that it had become second nature. And for what? Because she had loved me too much to see me get hurt doing something all the signs had said were impossible for me to do back then. It was so silly, so stupid, so childish.

But it was so easy to justify stupidity when you felt that you were wronged, and it was so hard to look at yourself with any sort of objectivity and go 'Wait, why do I feel like that? _Why am I doing that?_ It doesn't make any sort of sense at all!'

I needed to fix my mistake. I wanted to patch things up with my mom. But would she even be willing to forgive me? I don't think I would, if I were put into the same situation. I hadn't when she had tried, and tried again and again over and over. But I needed to do it. I don't think I could forgive myself if I didn't and I wasn't sure that I'd have the guts to try if I waited, even though I really wanted to wait. Even though I really wanted to just crawl into a hole and feel like a pathetic sack of shit.

I fumbled with the key to the apartment door, hands shaking. It took me a few tries to get it in and open the door.

The inside of the apartment was immaculately well-kept and the furnishings were rather normal, the sort of things you'd probably find in most apartments in Japan. Except for the photos that had been hung on every wall in the house- except my bedroom. There were hundreds of them, photos of me. I didnt smile in a single one. Most even looked to have been taken without my knowing, or as I was walking away. They had been. It was hard to recall my ever having willingly paused for my mom to take a photo. I really was pathetic. I took off my shoes and left them at the entrance.

I walked to the kitchen, a mouth-watering smell was wafting from that direction and the sounds of my cupboards being opened and closed let me know mom was making dinner. She was an amazing cook.

When she caught sight of me she flinched slightly and stammered my name and a greeting. It was an all too common response and made me feel even worse. "I-izuku. W-welcome home."

"Mom, I-" I started, but my breath caught in my throat.

Then she noticed my tears and let out a little gasp. "Izuku! What's the matter! Were you hurt? What do I need to do?"

Of course. Of course she would still worry about me, even after I had treated her like a second rate houseworker for all these years. What did I do to deserve a mother like this?

I fell to my knees and bowed. "Mom, I'm so sorry! I- I'm so sorry!" I coughed and shook, the shame felt heavy on me. "You- all this time you've been nothing but good to me, and I- I…"

She threw her ladle aside, stew forgotten, and rushed to my side tugging at my sleeves. "Izuku, what is it?! Get up. What's happened to you?!" she asked in a panic, trying to heave me back to my feet.

But I was too heavy for her to lift, skinny though I was. "I'm so sorry mom. I'm so, so sorry…!"

Forgetting the attempt to get me up she instead dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around me. "You never have to apologize to me. Never. I'll always forgive you no matter what you do, so you never have to ask, okay."

She was crying and that made me cry more. I hugged her back, savoring the warmth and the smell of fresh cooking. "I love you so much, mom."

"And I love you more, Izuku. You're my precious baby, my perfect little boy."

And we sat there, kneeling on the cold tile floor in a tight embrace until the smell of burning meat brought us back to the present. My mom's stew had been ruined, the meat stew a blackened mess. Mom didn't seem to care though. She looked happier than I'd ever seen her in years and she never let go of me, holding onto my sleeve as though scared I would leave. I think she thought this may have been a dream.

When my stomach growled, my appetite ravenous after a day's walking about and the impromptu workout from that villian. Mom giggled, then fumbled in her purse for a minute and pulled out a pamphlet, an ad for a new local pizzeria that had opened a few weeks back.

Our pizza arrived thirty minutes later and we ate it together on the living room couch, just talking about anything and everything and savouring the other's company. It was my favorite meal in months. The pizza was truthfully pretty terrible. The crust was soggy and undercooked in places. The toppings looked to be thrown in with no care, the meat nearly as burnt as the stew in the kitchen. But the food was secondary.

It still felt awkward. We hadn't really talked in so long that we may as well have been strangers. And I had to bite back smart-ass, snarky comments more times than I cared to count. A few slipped through though, but instead of being upset mom laughed. I went to bed with a big smile on my face.

I had a lot of work to do, a lot of growing to go through before my mom and I were back to being as close as we'd been when I was little. But now I really wanted to do it. Not for All Might's sake but for me.

* * *

The months passed quick and soon it was the last week before the holidays. I, for one, was more than happy to be rid of this god-forsaken place for a while. The teachers were incompetent and unprofessional, the students untalented, idiotic and shallow. Aldera Junior High sucked. Especially after the last few months.

"Look Yuna, it's Midoriya- kun… He looks so mysterious, right?"

Two girls were stood at the school entrance. A shiver shot through my spine and I tried, discretely, walking faster.

"Quiet Sa-chan, I think he heard you. You're embarrassing me!"

"Why don't you go and talk to him then? The semester's almost over, I'm not sure you'll get another chance to-"

What those girls wanted to talk about was, thankfully, not discerned right then. But I could guess. Ever since the incident with the slime villain was made public my life had gotten a lot more complicated. The girls of Musutafu seemed to conspire against me, making loud confessions of undying love in public places like at the mall when I was spending the day with my mom, filling my locker with scented letters that spilled onto the floor every other morning and had to be carried off to the recycling bin or offering me home-made bento's and chocolates every lunch break. It was really hard to develop a positive, happy outlook on life when these… these… pests were coming out of the woodwork all hours of the night and day!

They barely knew me at all. I'd never said more than a word to most of them in the past few years in Aldera, now I was supposed to be the school heartthrob?! I was forced to listen to them 'whisper' gossip about me, about how I was just waiting for the right girl to come and shower me with love, crack through my tough exterior? Just the thought, the very notion that I was some cliche chick flick guy who seemed mean but was really just all soft and gooey on the inside made me want to immolate someone, just set them on fire and burn them to a crisp. I knew the thought wasn't one someone trying to fix his attitude and stay away from heading down the path into villainy should be thinking but the mental image still put a smile on my face.

I made it to class without any… unwanted encounters. I stopped to take a few breaths and prepare myself. "Think positive. Be positive. Other people are smart, free-thinking beings who deserve respect and to be treated with dignity." I whispered the mantra, hoping doubtfully that it would help me deal with the bullshit that was my class.

I opened the classroom door. Most of the class was already there, what with it being only a few minutes until the bell rung but most of the boys in the class were crowded around a single desk, watching a video on someone's phone. They were watching in rapt attention, making noises of disbelief or amazement every so often. I subtly peaked through when passing.

The video they were watching was of me facing off against the slime villain. I was, or rather the video me was dodging the slime villain's many probing tentacles as though he were some sort of ninja. It looked sort of as though I was dancing. I would shift a tiny bit, just enough for the slime to pass by, and then whenever I saw an open or the tentacles had slowed down for a moment, BAM! I would throw an explosion in it's face.

I groaned. This wasn't the first time my classmates had watched the video. Honestly, I just didn't see what the big deal was. There thousands of videos out there of heroes, real heroes, performing acts of heroics that made what I did look amateurish and clumsy in comparison. I thought for sure by now the excitement would have died down.

But it hadn't. In fact the only boy not watching the video right then was Bakugou. He was staring at me with intent eyes from the back of the class, hands clenched into fists. His hands were calloused and covered in little scabs and cuts from training. He actually looked noticeably more athletic than he had done just a few months ago. Bakugou had definitely stepped up his physical training ever since I'd saved him from the slime villain.

I wasn't ignorant. I guess having someone you despised and thought of as a rival save your ass in such a public manner, then get glorified because of it, that must be rough to deal with. And Bakugou wasn't the type to show gratitude. I didn't think he knew what that emotion was, to be honest. But he had yet to bother me personally since then, apart from the oh-so-scathing looks so I wasn't all that concerned to be honest. He hadn't even attempted to goad me into a fight even once since the incident so my property damage had gone down significantly in the last few months.

"Miyamoto! Is that a cellphone I see you've brought to class?" Our teacher called, placing his briefcase on his desk.

"N-no sir."

"… Just put it away, Miyamoto. Honestly, just because the holidays are coming nearer you all think you can get away with anything. And the rest of you, get back into your seats and sit quietly. Except for you, Midoriya. You've been called to the office, the principal wants to have a word with you."

"Do you have any idea why the principal wants to see me, sir?"

"No, Midoriya, I don't. You just make sure that you be respectful of the principal's time. He is a very busy man with many important duties to see to."

Kiss-ass, I thought.

"Yes sir. I'll head right on down then. Thank you for letting me know." I gave a little bow then made my way to the principal's office. With the halls emptied I could afford to take my time strolling through the school but I decided against taking too long. It would go against my new attitude, a hero was always supposed to be prompt and respectful of others time… No matter how aggravating that may be.

I knocked thrice at the door to the principal's office, maybe a tad harder than was polite. There was a momentary pause, then a gravelly voice came from the other side. "Oh, Mr. Midoriya- san. Please, come in."

The principal, a salt-and-pepper haired gentleman with the physique of animated linguini, was smiling a too wide smile. I thought that he was trying to look as polite as possible but that character trait hadn't seemed to have seen much use by him in the past. He wore it oddly, unfamiliarly. "Sit down, sit down. Please make yourself comfortable. Always happy to see the star of our school."

How odd. The last time I'd seen him had been a month into the school year after a brawl between Bakugou and I had caused a particularly nasty ruckus and a long string of bystander injuries. This, of course, lead to a great many calls from angry parents with threats of lawsuits and claims of supervisory negligence, a great headache for the school administration. Or so I was told. Back then he had gone to great lengths to say, in no uncertain terms, that I was a stain on this fine institution and that I would amount to nothing. I so wanted to point out the hypocrisy but bit my tongue. God, was I proud of myself for that right then. "And it's always good to see you too, Sir." My register had involuntarily gone up a few octaves with that greeting.

"Thank you, thank you. Now please, make yourself comfortable." He gestured to the visitor's seat across his desk.

I sat down, wondering just what this meeting was about.

"Now Mr. Midoriya, I am told that you want to attend Yuuei Academy, correct?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes… sir. It's always been a dream of mine to become a hero and help others." Always expound on answers to questions you are asked. If someone takes the time to think up a question based on your interests they do it to get a response better than just a simple that's right. They want context, they want to know how that personally affects you. At least, that's what my book on effective communication said, pretty much.

"Yes, a very admirable ambition. And let me be the first to say that I believe you will without a doubt achieve it and become a great hero. You are a very talented young man." The principal said

The words may have seemed motivating but coming from the principal they rung hollow. "Thank you."

The principal leaned forward in his seat "Do you know how the selection process is for Yuuei, by any chance?"

"Well, you basically only have to pass the comprehensive test they send out to any applicants who pass the screening process. If you pass that test you are invited to the entrance exam. Pass that and you're let in." I replied

Nodding, the principal added "Yes, a rather basic summation for a series of tests known to be the most brutal entrance requirements for any school in Japan, but that is completely correct. However… There is an alternate route into enrollment not so prominent."

Now he had my full attention. I had already met the requirements for the regular entrance exam but had never heard of any other way to get into Yuuei before. I was certain I'd pass either way, but it was still pretty interesting nonetheless. "Really? I'd never heard of something like that before."

"Yes. Well, it's not exactly a secret but very few people are chosen for the alternate selection as it were. And Yuuei isn't exactly the most forthcoming when it comes to information on school practices. But the best of the best, the students with the greatest potential are chosen for another entrance exam. A secret exam held in secret before the regular exam, and as I am told held to an even greater standard than the regular one."

My eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really? The best of the best?"

The competitive side of me wanted to attend this secret exam and test my mettle against the greatest students across Japan, to prove my superiority. And it seemed pretty clear to me that the reason for this meeting was for the principal to inform me that I had been chosen for this second exam. He'd probably try to play up his involvement in my being chosen, try to garner some admiration from a future hero.

"Yes, the best. And I wanted to be the first to inform you that you were chosen for this exam. With your exceptional quirk and natural talent I reached out to as many of my contacts as possible to secure you a place in the recommendation exam."

"Oh… Thank you very much, sir. Though… I wonder what the point was, seeing as how I already have a place in the regular entrance exam." I needed to get as much info on this exam as I could. If the selection process was even more stringent than the regular one and the tests were said to be even harder than there must have been some advantages to taking this exam that couldn't be had any other way.

"Now Mr. Midoriya, don't be so hasty to judge this exam. There are benefits to the recommendation exam that couldnt be had any other way."

"Really?" I asked, trying to make my tone sound as disbelieving as possible.

"Without a doubt. For starters those who take the recommendation exam get to do so months ahead of time giving them an advantage when it comes to knowing who their class teachers will be and getting an idea of what classes they will be attending, the cirriculum and advance notice of the textbooks required. I dont think I have to explain to someone as intelligent as you are just what an advantage to your marks it would be to have access to the textbooks months ahead of most of your classmates would be."

That sounded really appealing. I nodded my head appreciatively.

"And not only that," the principal continued "But I have been told that those who get picked for the exam and pass are watched more closely by the teachers and faculty and may even have access to greater job opportunities in future like being scouted by better hero agencies or even working overseas. Perhaps even better equipment or special privileges."

All Might had worked for years in the States and in an interview once credited the work he had done over there with helping him develop into a talented hero. I had never given much thought to where I wanted to work after becoming an official hero but the more options available to me when the time the better my chances of becoming a hero that stood at the top, that surpassed the number one hero himself.

"Wow." I said, genuinely impressed. He was no doubt inflating a lot of the benefits somewhat to impress but I could definitely see merit in a lot of his talk. "Thank you very much, sir. I definitely want to take that advance exam now."

The principal smiled wide in satisfaction. "My pleasure, my pleasure. It's my job to look out for talented students like yourself, after all. Just remember this old man when you become a fine young hero one day."

I bowed slightly in my seat "I definitely will… Though, wasn't there a letter sent for me about this that I could read? You know, with stuff like the date of the exam and the like?"

"You'll get that in the mail when you head home. I suppose I was so excited for you that I wanted to share the news as soon as I heard word. And I suppose it may have helped you somewhat for me to explain how important this exam could be for your future as a hero."

And try getting into my good graces, no doubt. But just because I was trying to turn over a new leaf and fix my bad attitude didn't mean that I was becoming a gullible fool.

* * *

I was sat in one of the examination rooms in Yuuei Academy, a room set aside for the infamously difficult paper test of Yuuei's entrance exam. Or, rather, the recommendations entrance exam. But I figured the paper test's for both the recommendation exam and the regular entrance exam would be pretty much identical either way. And the test had been…

Easy. The paper test had been way too easy. I guess that perhaps I had been expecting too much from Yuuei's infamous exam. Or maybe I had just over-prepared for the written test. But either way I had breezed through the exam so quickly the examiner had been giving me suspicious looks ever since I'd rested my head on the desk. The rest of the examinees— not even enough students to fill the class— had all given me either looks of loathing or amazement to varying degrees. Well... Maybe not all the class.

One of them had finished the test nearly as quickly as I had. A buxom raven haired pirl who looked much too.. Physically developed to be a first year student like I was. She looked damn near adult. That coupled with how quickly she had finished her test made me a bit suspicious. Now, that may be considered a little hypocritical seeing as how I had finished even quicker than she had but I there was just something about her that caught my attention.

I had to wait for the entire allotted hour and a half to fish before I could leave the test room. We weren't allowed to leave early. I suspected that the teachers in charge of overseeing this test didn't want any of the students wandering around the school grounds and getting lost. Or, more likely, didn't want them scoping out the school grounds both so that they didn't have an upper hand in the next test and also because leaked photos or info of the school was very highly sought after. Enough so that leaked photos of the campus grounds had sold for thousands online and those who did manage to pass the exam and become official student of yuuei academy were put under intense scrutiny to withhold school secrets from outsiders. It was one of the reasons why information on Yuuei's tests or exams or even on their preferred textbooks was so scarce to find.

"Okay you are all to leave your papers on the desk. They will be collected in due you have not managed to complete all your questions I am afraid that you're out of luck. A hero needs to be capable of completing things in the time allotted. Now, you are all to make your way outside." Present Mic, the examiner for the test said.

A pro-hero of outstanding caliber, Present Mic was known to be capable of magnifying sounds through his speakers, producing sound-waves strong enough to shatter glass, tear through concrete and cause extreme pain to any villain unfortunate enough to listen to it.

A few minutes later and we were shuttled from the exam room to a walled off area with massive steel doors much too big to be opened by any human being.. Unless that human being was All Might. Since All Might didn't work at Yuuei- not that he'd ever be made to open doors- there were several giant mechanical hinges that opened the doors.

"All right, all right. Calm down listener's! I know you're excited and all but that's no reason to be so rowdy. We're here for your second test, a three kilometer obstacle course race." Present Mic scolded

None of us had made a sound. In fact nobody really seemed all that stressed about the test at all. But of course they weren't. These were the greatest, most talented students across all Japan. They had each been called prodigies, talented beyond belief, had dominated over their classmates. I was sure that there wasn't a single student among them who had any notion that they would do anything but pass this test in first place. And I wanted to prove them all wrong, to show them that even a one in a million talent had nothing on me. They would learn their place, that was for sure. I grinned in anticipation.

"Now, there are too many of you to all come up at once. So what we'll have you do is come up in teams of six. When your name is called make your way to the start of the obstacle course. Whether you come first or last will not be taken into consideration as much as the time it took you to finish the course. So don't go thinking that just because you came in first place that you definitely made it in. It may just be that you were put in a slow group!"

"First up is Setsuna Tokage. Please make your way to the front."

A petite girl with a wicked grin made her way forward. A picture flashed in my mind, a lone hand floating up behind a grey haired woman and grabbing her shoulder. The woman jumped in fright and Setsuna howled in laughter, the floating hand reattaching to her arm. So, some sort of advanced body control? She could manipulate her limbs when detached from her body. Whether the limbs had to be deliberately cut or if they did so on their own I couldnt tell. I couldnt tell if there was a hard and fast limit to her abilities either. Like, what counted as a 'limb'? Could she detach specific body parts like a nose or an ear and still be able to hear or smell from it? I wasnt sure. But it was interesting nonetheless. With enough control over the quirk I could see how it would be considered recommendation-worthy.

"Next is Momo Yaoyorozu."

The girl who had finished just after me in the written test made her way forward. I may have stared at her a little too intently because one of my fellow competitors shoved my shoulder. "Sorry…" I muttered. I wasn't the only one staring, though. She really was pretty. But I wasn't staring at her because of her shiny hair, bundled into a gravity defying pinwheel or at her well-developed br- mammary glands. No. I was staring because I still thought she had been planted into this test by the test devisers for some reason. Maybe to spy on us and give more detailed information to the examiners? Whatever the reason was I was going to be watching her real closely.

Setsuna smiled at Momo and gave her a playful punch on the shoulder to which Momo smiled and gave a polite bow, a bow that did… things to her breasts. Yes. I was going to be watching her real closely.

The rest of the first team didn't feature to me. The race started and instead of running off like the rest of the team had Momo started unbuttoning her shirt. I blinked, once, twice. No, I wasn't hallucinating, she was really unbuttoning her shirt. I wasn't seeing things. One of the taller guys gave a soft whistle. "Holy… Now I know I was making the right choice coming to Yuuei."

Just _what did she think she was doing_? The race was under way!

Setsuna had already covered nearly five hundred metres, she wasn't that much more athletic than an average schoolgirl but her floating body parts had her racing through the obstacles as though they weren't even there. Meanwhile Momo was back at the start line, all but shirtless with a look of intent concentration.

Then a flash of light came from Momo and a moment later a full fledged motorbike was in-front of her. Our collective jaws dropped. Holy… She had just made a damn motorbike from nothing! For some reason even though I had been keeping an eye on her ever since the written test I hadn't come to the conclusion that checking what her quirk was would be a good idea.

She sped through the first part of the course, quickly overtaking Setsuna taking the lead and disappearing out of view. By now she had already gotten too far out of my quirk's field for me to determine exactly what her quirk did. All I could discern was that it allowed he to create any substance she intimately knew the structure of. What her energy source was I couldn't discern with my quirk but from seeing her open her shirt I guessed it to be some sort of internal fuel source and that she created it directly from her own skin. It may have been a specific location on her body or it could just be that the amount of skin exposed played a direct part in the size of the thing she could create. But still… To be capable of understanding molecular structure on such a scale as to reliably create a substance was mind blowing, a feat of mental simulation that boggled the mind. And she had still somehow managed to create something as complex as a motorbike, and even the fuel to power it… Wow.

There was no doubt in my mind now. Yaoyorozu Momo was definitely some sort of imposter. Four minutes after the start of the race and Present Mic announced her official finish time. 10m18s. And she must have needed to make other tools to get through the course. It was an obstacle course after all. None of the other girls even came close to her time. I didn't think I could either. I knew I couldn't do that. But they all managed to finish, eventually. Judging by Present Mic's subtle reaction's only three or so of them would be passing through with those times.

"Okay then… Now for the next batch of prospective students! Hmm…" He paused, glancing subtly at his phone. It seemed he was being issued orders from someone else in the school. Placements weren't at all random then. Why they would take any consideration into the race placements didn't make any sense to me, considering that your placement in the race apparently didn't really matter.

"Could I please have Zaibatsu Sayu, Ichire Hijiro and Todoroki Shouto make their way to the start line please."

The first two contestants were nothing worth mentioning, their quirks were little better than average. One of them literally had a slug head so I was confident he wouldn't be putting up much of a challenge for the race. The last one though, he would be trouble. He actually had two quirks. Two very, very powerful quirks. Fire and Ice, very cool. And very flashy. I would have happily mimicked both if I didn't notice the nasty burn on one side of his face. It seemed that his quirk didn't come with any resistance to the fire it created. It was all too common for kids with newly awakened quirks to hurt themselves when they were still not fluent in it's control. The more dangerous the child's quirk the worse the repercussions. I knew that lesson first hand, after all.

"Then to join them I'd like Koki Kobayashi, Izuku Midoriya and Inase Yoroashi to make their way forward as well."

Koki had a mouth fool of teeth and a perpetual shark-like grin. Inase on the other hand was massive. He had Japanese features to be sure but the height of a tall Hollander, and built like a linebacker to boot. And his quirk too… Wind manipulation. I had seen similar quirks before, one of my classmates actually had a steam manipulation quirk. But Inase's seemed to be on another level entirely. I could, usually, instinctively tell the strength of someone's quirk from up close and from what I could sense from Inase… He was on a whole other level. In terms of pure power he was on par- no, slightly ahead of Todoroki.

Suddenly I wasn't quite so sure of my chances in this competition.

* * *

_**Writer's Note**_

**Hello... I had hoped to release this chapter a few days earlier, hopefully the very slightly longer length somewhat makes up for that. I plan to drop the next chapter in two weeks, as long as I am not hit by any buses or smote down by a bolt of lightning or something else equally dramatic. I'm very sorry about the second scene and the flashback at the start of the chapter. I just felt it was necessary for me to flesh out Izuku's attempts to change and come to terms with his nature. Or well, it was necessary for me at least. Someone more skilled could have pulled it off much more smoothly, I am sure. Let me also just say for the record that a boy notices pretty girls. Taking note of a pretty girl doesn't necessarily equate to a blossoming romance… Unfortunately. It also doesn't mean that it can't be a blossoming romance, but keep in mind that I am not very good at righting romance and right now I'd like to avoid that can of worms if I can. I deeply appreciate all of you who review, favorite or follow this story- or just generally show your appreciation some way. Please, again, let me know any errors you see in this story or anything you think I could do better. For example I note that I refer to U.A. as Yuuei, which is sort of right but still bothers me quite a bit. I may go back to fix that but for now going through the document to fix that isn't worth the effort. I also sometimes jumble the order of first and last name of characters. But hey, I try alright? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

_**When you have the time please consider leaving a review of this story- or any other story you've enjoyed on this site. Your positive reviews and critical feedback is what writers like me use to keep writing, to face the metaphorical dragon of the empty screen. **_

_**Thank you :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

The starting gunshot fired and with a heave I left the starting line. I had barely gone three steps when I was handily overtaken by Inasa and Todoroki. Neither even looked back at me as they passed, Todoroki all but surfing on a sheet of ever-growing ice while Inasa flew. Well, it wasn't real flight. It was more like Inasa was taking a step then propelling himself forward with a wild burst of air that made it seem like he was gliding across the ground.

I pulled at the air myself, trying to mimic the motion with the quirk I had borrowed from the taller competitor. It was similar to the steam kid's quirk from my junior high class in it's control, but a lot more… fluid? More pliable, in a sense. I gathered the air behind my back then when my foot lifted I pushed it back, as hard as I could. I stumbled, nearly tripping but re-balanced myself with a light blast of wind from my hand. I stepped again, this time being more careful in my timing of the blast to make sure that I didn't have the air pass too early and stumble again. This time I managed to somewhat replicate Inasa's fluid strides, but I had still timed the burst incorrectly- this time a fraction of a second too late. A hundred meters or so in and my strides where getting better, I was moving at a faster clip. The other three students were now firmly behind me, it didn't seem as though they would be able to make up the distance if I kept a similar pace throughout the obstacle course.

Though, I was in turn firmly behind Inasa and Todoroki. The track- because that's what the building was, one giant walled off track of sorts- took a bend, and both Inasa and Todoroki had taken it and were out of view. I gritted my teeth. I did not like being behind. Not one bit.

I needed another quirk, I needed more versatility. But none of the other kids I was facing off against would be helpful. The three behind me clearly didn't have quirks that would be much help in a test where speed was important. I had already taken Inasa's quirk and there was no way I was touching Todoroki's half-hot, half-cold quirk without some sort of safety gear or a fire-extinguisher nearby. I would not pull off the scorched face look, that was for sure.

I would have to suffice with just this quirk… There were no other quirks in range. Nothing else I could do to fix that… I would just have to make it work.

I thought as I ran, because thinking helped take my mind off the burning pain rising in my chest. There had to be some way I could go faster. There had to be something I could do with Inasa's quirk that could help me go faster…

Inasa's quirk allowed him to manipulate air. Or more accurately to manipulate air molecules… I grinned. I just may have had an idea… I pulled at the air molecules in-front of me, then shoved them to the side. I wanted to make a vacuum right ahead of me, a space where no air molecules would push against me as I moved. It worked, somewhat. I created a partial vacuum right ahead of me whilst propelling myself forward with a burst of air from behind with every stride. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that it was important for me to have air around, because as a human being I actually needed air to breathe. Go figure.

I tried timing it so that I was shoving aside the air ahead of me just as I was propelling myself forward. That actually worked, after the first few attempts. It was actually quite difficult to time everything so tightly and I still messed up a few times. But I was moving faster… Though not all that much.

Being in a vacuum certainly did allow things to move faster since they didn't have to push aside all that air, air resistance was real but the effect was only really noticeable on objects that were already moving really fast and were really large. It was one of the most significant reasons why cars were shaped to be sleek and have a low profile, so that they could reach higher speeds and rates of acceleration. But using that effect when you were a skinny teen moving at human-being speeds the effect was barely noticeable and it not being a true, perfect vacuum wasn't great either. Relatively speaking. But it did mean that I was now moving nearly as fast as I had seen Inasa move earlier.

The straight track become rockier, less urban. The straight, even polyurethane became uneven and bumpy stone. Soon enough I had come to the foot of a tall earthen wall. I could see the peaks of several even taller ones peak out from behind them. So, a series of wall climbs with the U.A. flair, huh?

There were several vines growing from the wall, its rocky surface was uneven and had bumps and dips that could act as holds too. After taking a good look up and mentally plotting my approach I sprinted back a good few meters, then with a running start I made for the wall. At the base I jumped, throwing my hands down at my sides and shoving as much air down as I could. I didn't need any hand gestures to control Inasa's quirk but I had already worked out that when I actually made the effort to use them it was a lot easier to control the air molecules and they came faster and stronger.

In a single bound I had hopped over the wall. I splayed my hands out to the sides and called wind to slow my fall. I stopped at the bottom, hands on my knees and panting for breath. That had taken a lot out of me, and by my judging there was still more than two thirds of the race to go! I hadn't realized just how out of shape I was til then.

When my breath had more or less returned I started jogging toward the next wall at a steady clip. I needed to pace myself or I wouldn't be making it through this test at all. That couldn't be allowed.

There was about a hundred or so meters between the first wall and the second, and if my guess held true it would be more or less the same for the rest of the walls as well, of which I could tell there would be at least three. The third towered so high that I couldn't really make out if there was another behind it or not. The first had already been nearly as tall as a two story building, the second was at least half again as big and the third followed suit. I copied my approach on the second wall and it managed to get me over, just barely. On the third wall I had to grab on a tangled, knotted vine. A vine that gave way, letting me fall from a rocky wall nearly as tall as the apartment block I lived in.

I grabbed frantically at the wall, willing my descent slowed at the same time. Instead of falling like a dropped stone I was slowly drooping down. Had my control over wind been a bit stronger I would have been able to hover in mid-air and had it been greater still I would have been able to disregard the obstacles and the running entirely and just fly through the course. But we didnt always get things the way we wanted, did we? I managed to find purchase on the wall and slowly began pulling my way up.

It was hard work, vines had to be tested before they were used to haul myself up because some seemingly strong ones just gave way as though they were little more than twine. By the time I had made it to the top of the wall my forearms were burning and my biceps were trembling with exhaustion.

There were still two more walls to climb, but lucky for me these two were smaller than the third- being duplicates of the first two- and so my run and jump strategy worked just fine, even if they left me gasping.

After I had passed through the rocky terrain of the earthen walls the obstacle course became tarred road, and pretty soon buildings started to rise in my vision. I would have to run through a maze of streets and tall buildings that looked like a stereotypical Japanese city center- if a stereotypical Japanese city center had been completely abandoned. Without any people in it, cars whizzing about and train tracks grinding in the distance the city felt so strangely off-putting to me. Eerie.

I jogged on, then stopped. I'd heard a sort of whir sound coming from one of the buildings. But I didn't sense any quirks nearby, certainly nothing within range. My heart started to beat just a little faster. I tried to continue on, but then heard it again. There was no mistaking that sound this time. Then a metallic visage exited one of the buildings, a small shimmery robot with a round design. Then another one of the round robots appeared. And another. Until there were at least ten robots, all peering down at me. I didn't stop to think. I just ran.

My movement spurred their own, and soon I was being chased through the maze of streets by a horde of little robots. Maybe I should have stopped to attack them, maybe I'd receive some sort of bonus points if I did, but I'd been told that this was a timed race and I was sure that the proctor hadn't lied about that. There wouldn't be any bonus points for robot destruction, this was just another obstacle meant to delay us.

Also Inasa had disappeared from the range of my quirk field moments after I'd entered the city area. Which meant that, without another quirk present, I was all but quirkless. I grimaced in distaste, remembering when I'd been called that when I was younger, but still ran on. My chest burnt but having a horde of whirring, weapon carrying robots chase after you with intent to harm was, as I was finding, a very motivating factor for physical activity. They should hire these little monstrosities out to gyms and the national obesity crisis would go down real quirk.

One of the robots tackled me, appearing from an alley to my side. I punched it square in the robot eye but the attack didn't do much. I glanced back. The horde was catching up. If I managed to get them all on me I was pretty much done for. My robot tackler was shifting about, trying to get his robot arm pointed at me. Our limbs had become tangled in the midair exchange, with me holding back his robot arms and he trying to free my grasp- so that he could point his blaster at my face no doubt. The robot was just, barely, weaker than I was. It was a small little thing, about half my size. But it was ferocious. It seemed to be having some trouble seeing though. Maybe my attack on its eye-sensor hadn't been as useless as I'd thought, even if my hand was throbbing.

Then I noticed, as it swiveled it's head to and fro, thick strands of wires connected to the base of it's head. A robotic equivalent of the spinal cord, the connector between the robotic brain in the head and the wiry nervous system that allowed it to control it's robot limbs. For a moment I let go of it's arms and the robot was free to move his blaster-carrying arm. And in that moment I grabbed at the base of wires, and tugged. They came loose, thankfully, and the robot's red-glowing eye dulled, dying out.

I shoved it off and continued running. The horde had gotten close, very close after that encounter and I needed to haul ass if I wanted to get through them. Thankfully these robots weren't all that big or sophisticated or else I don't think I'd have gotten even as far as I had.

I came to a crossroads and turned left, figuring it was as likely an out as any other way. A large robot, nearly twice as tall as I was and at least twice as wide was sat squat in the middle of the street, painted an army green. I turned back and went right instead. Were the examiner's listening in on my thoughts?! There wasn't a giant robot in the middle of the street this time. There were two. And they were making their way towards me, tank treads spinning furiously. I should have trusted my gut.

The smaller, but no less dangerous horde had blocked my exit. I looked around the street wildly, trying to find some sort of exit. There. An alley-way with what looked like a fire escape. I ran that way and the robots followed, though at a slower pace. It were as though they had figured that I was as good as captured and they didn't have to try all that hard anymore. Or, more likely, they had been programmed with some sort of algorithm that stopped them from turning this obstacle course test into a bloodbath.

The fire escape had a one story drop without any steps- to ostensibly make it harder for the imaginary city vagrants to scrabble onto- but a garbage container had been shoved nearby. With a running start I leapt for the top of the container, banging my knee against the edge of the steel box. Scrabbling for the fire escape I heaved my way up. Glass shattered near my head. The two large robots, incapable of climbing up themselves, were trailing their guns on me. I started climbing the escape with renewed fervor.

Four of the smaller robots were using their robot arms to climb the building itself, using the handholds of the windows and irregular surface to make their way up, not even needing the fire escape like I did. And they were making it up faster than I was. Shit.

I clambered to the top. The four were already waiting for me as I'd predicted, and leapt for me. God. These things had been programmed to be idiots. Did they only have one approach? Didn't they realize their guns could be- and were best when- fired from a distance? I dodged them all. I ran to the edge then spotted the exit from this urban maze. I should have thought to look for a vantage point the moment I'd seen the tall buildings, but being chased had dropped my IQ significantly. At least I knew the way out now.

I eyed the distance between this building and the next skeptically. It was rather small, less than half as wide as the road at the bottom. Had this been on solid ground I wouldn't have thought twice about being able to jump a distance like that but being five stories up made me a little uncomfortable. The robots made for me again and my way was decided, ready for it or not. I took a few steps back and made a running jump, easily clearing the distance. The robots hadn't had any problem either, though.

Damn. They were stupid, or at least programmed to be that was for sure, and they weren't the strongest either but damned if those robots weren't maneuverable. And then the other little robots that had disappeared for no apparent reason spilled out onto the rooftop too, surrounding me. I didn't panic though.

Inasa's quirk was back in range.

I swept my arm and a tornado, nearly as big as the building, appeared on the roof and began pulling everything into it. Robots, lights and roof fixtures, roof tiles, they were all pulled up and spun about. Except me, which shouldn't have been the case if I hadn't had the foresight to create a secondary air current around my person to keep me in place. Like many quirks out there Inasa's wind manipulation wasn't as simple to use in practice as the heroes made it seem in the videos.

Now, eager to hold onto the wind quirk and with a clear path to follow I rushed forward. The wind seemed to come easier, quicker than before. It wasn't all that unusual for my strength with a quirk to increase with repeated use- in fact I always expected it to do so- but it had only ever very rarely been a noticeable increase from one use to another, and even then nothing as prominent as what I was feeling now. Maybe because I'd already had a good amount of experience with a somewhat similar quirk I was getting better faster? As good a possible answer as any I could come up with in the middle of a test.

I leapt from rooftop to rooftop with ease, Inasa's quirk giving me the confidence to leap gaps other's would gawk at. Trying to test the limit to Inasa's wind quirk I leapt over two buildings, easily landing near the center of the third's roof. With enough strength I was sure I could fly, it was certain now. I wondered if Inasa had already figured out how to do the same.

When I landed, slowly drifting down, onto the path back onto the course proper two of the big robots were guarding the path out. I wondered amusedly if they were the same two I had left back in the alley. Nah. It was too far away, and I had been jumping rooftops much faster than they could move at top speed.

Two rockets appeared on either of their shoulders, smoke starting to billow from their ends as they prepared to launch. Smiling, I swiped my arm and they went flying, the rockets going off-course, reducing half a street to rubble. The rising smoke would probably help the rest of the participants find the exit to the maze but I doubted any of them would pass the test anyway. Besides, whether any of them passed was none of my concern. Honestly, I didn't care either way.

All I knew was that, with my newfound control over the wind quirk and with whatever it was that was holding up Inasa and Todoroki I may actually have a chance to catch up for the first time since the race started.

I flew through the next stretch- nearly, anyway- and found a short river that needed crossing. Amazingly for me Todoroki had left an icy trail across one half of the river, a sheet of ice easily thick enough for me to cross. Why he hadn't melted it after crossing was beyond me- he was probably bothered enough by Inasa keeping up with him that he didn't care about the rest of us, just as I was about those behind me. But I would gladly use his track to catch up and prove him wrong.

The ice was slippery and I'd normally have to step carefully for fear of slipping but a generous amount of wind helped me ski across the surface with ease. I was really starting to love the versatility of this quirk.

The iced over lake became a wide flattened area. It was here that I found Inasa and Todoroki, fighting… Robots. Giant ones.

The reason for this was simple- the robots had been programmed to block off the only path, a tiny gap a person could just barely pass through without their shoulders touching the sides. Every time one of the robots fell the rest would just shift a bit and the path would be cut off again. And it wasn't easy to fell even one of the robots either.

If I'd thought that those two rocket-carrying robots had been big earlier I was greatly mistaken. These were bigger than any of the buildings I had passed in the city maze, giant metal behemoths. The ground had been trudged to rubble by their stomping limbs, giant holes planted with every step. Evey time the giant robots stepped the ground seemed to quake. But Inasa and Todoroki were already making quick work of them. More than half of the horde were already lying on the ground, broken.

Todoroki stamped his foot down once and an iceberg erupted to cover one of the metal behemoth's, turning it into an ice-cube. With that display Todoroki had just been cemented as the most powerful ice user I had ever come across, real life or on the internet. And that had just been half of his quirk!

And just as I was thinking that Todoroki was an overpowered beast three crashes brought my attention back to Inasa who was standing with an arm upraised, tendrils of air currents spinning so fast from his palm that they were visible to my naked eyes. With a single gesture he had wrapped those air currents around three of the robots and brought them to the ground. He was actually using air currents as though they were rope, proving that he was without question the better air manipulator. And each of those robots must have weighed tons… To think he was strong enough to bring them down with a gesture…

Without preamble I hopped into the fray, by literally hopping at one of the robots. Powered by wind I made it to a robot's head. It could only stare at me with it's robotic eye- the same as that of those smaller round robots who'd given me so much trouble in the urban area, only sized up a thousand fold or more. Channeling wind around my achy fist like a drill, and compressing as many of the currents into a tiny area as I could, I punched it. The wind-drill exploded on contact, the compressed air rapidly expanding and blowing the robots head to smithereens. I'd have to thank Bakugou's explosion quirk next time I copied it, for giving me the idea.

I drifted back down to ground level completely unharmed, the wind defense I'd learned on the rooftop performed seamlessly to defend from the shrapnel. Inasa was staring at me with surprise, jaw open. Todoroki didn't even spare me a glance, already freezing two more robots. He paused after the attack, ice covering his arm and his breath coming out cold. And he still hadn't used his fire. That cinched it for me. If Todoroki wouldn't use his fire quirk even when in pain- which he clearly was- then his quirk must be really dangerous to use. He'd been blessed with fire and ice but no resistance to either… That must have sucked. Maybe he could learn to use the two simultaneously and somehow overcome that flaw? Or would fire and ice just clash? It was an interesting thing to ponder, either way.

There were still a few of the robots left in the clearing, and I was more than prepared to smash some more robots. But then, with the shifting of the robots I saw an opening, a path to the final leg of the obstacle course. A momentary respite from the fighting, and if I waited a second too long it would be gone and I'd probably have to destroy all the remaining bots. I took it, righting myself with subtle flows of wind when I lost my balance as the ground shook.

This was a timed race after all, defeating the robots weren't my priority.

From then it was a straight shot to the finish line, I could see the gate now. Appropriate. The race had started with a straight sprint, and now it ended the same way. I appreciated the circular ending. But now, twenty minutes or so after the race start and after constant, max effort work I was burned out. I tried to push myself, tried to dig deeper but by then I was completely hollowed out. Even with the benefit of Inasa's quirk to spur me on I was having trouble moving at a pace faster than a mild jog.

With the finish line, a thick painted white line near the gate, less than a hundred meters out I heard Inasa yelling from behind me and the frantic footfalls of two people. A moment later and they had overtaken me again, Inasa surrounded by a blanket of wind and Todoroki propelled forward by rippling ice.

When the two crossed the line it was a near photo finish, but Inasa's name and face popped up on the screen overhead in first position, split seconds ahead of Todoroki's own time. I made it across the line probably fifteen seconds or so behind the both of them. I fell, coughing and wheezing on my knees as soon as I crossed the line, feeling completely spent. Sweat dripped from my face and my shirt felt soggy with sweat.

"So, what do you say? Friends?" I heard Inase say, the earlier part of his conversation lost amid my panting.

Looking at he and Todoroki, I heard the flame-ice user say "… You're in my way." Before walking past Inasa, a cold expression in his eyes.

Inasa seemed to stumble back at the words.

Then he noticed me and his frown was replaced with a wide smile. "Hai, let me give you a hand!" He said, hurrying over. I took his hand gratefully and he pulled me to my feet with an ease that made me jealous and somewhat offended. I wasn't_ that_ skinny, was I?

"… Thank you." I muttered, almost inaudibly.

"It was my pleasure!" Inaseasaid, loudly. I was right in-front of him, couldn't he tone it down a bit?

He paused for a bit, looking thoughtful. "You know…" he said "I don't think I've ever met anyone with a quirk like mine before. We must be quirk- brothers!"

"You still haven't met anyone with the same quirk like yours." I said

"What do you mean? You used wind, right?"

"Yes, your wind. I can copy the quirks of anyone within range."

Inasa's eyes widened. "What?! And you used the wind so expertly too… That's incredible! You can copy quirk?"

"As far as I know. I haven't tried them all."

He ignored my slight attitude. Maybe he couldn't sense it under all that buoyant positivity. "Amazing… That's really amazing!"

I was surprised that he hadn't heard of me before. I couldn't remember having to explain my quirk to anyone since the video of my fight with the slime villain went viral… Though I hadn't really tried explaining it to people asking me before All Might gave me a talking to either, but that was because I hadn't wanted to speak to them not because they already knew of me. "Not amazing enough for me to win though, it seems…"

"Don't worry about that. You did really great, I'm sure you'll be a shoe-in for being passed. I nearly lost to you too, it was a really close race!"

"I don't want your sympathy." I snapped, and Inasa seemed genuinely hurt. I felt like I'd kicked a puppy. Shit. Wasn't I supposed to be fixing this sort of behavior?

"I… I'm sorry. I guess I'm still kinda upset about losing. I'm not used to not being first in anything that counts…"

Inasa gave a thumbs up and smiled, but I could see it was a bit forced. Two people had just tried to bite his head off for no reason, of course he was a bit upset. "It's no problem, don't worry about it."

"No. No, it is a problem. But it's a problem I'm trying to fix. Someone I look up to told me a few months ago that if I didn't shape up and fix my attitude problem that I'd never make it as a real hero, and I've been trying my best ever since. But it still seems that more often than not the bad side of me shows up..."

Inasa smiled brighter. "How… Passionate!" He announced, a fire lit in his eyes. "With that sort of attitude… You'll definitely make it and become a great hero!"

"Thanks…" I said, smiling despite myself. I appreciated it when people said they believed in me without some sort of ulterior motive. It was… nice to hear something like that coming from someone other than my mom.

"Oh, how rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself! Inasa Yoroashi, at your service." He said, bowing low.

How polite. "Umm… Izuku Midoriya. At your service?" I replied, scratching my head at his intro.

"A pleasure to meet you. You want to be friends?" he held out a hand.

I took it. "I'd like that."

* * *

Powerloader looked at me from across the desk. He was a really short gentleman with a mutationt quirk that I'd seen helped him dig tunnels faster than even the best industrial machines, it was almost like he swam underground. He was pretty much a superpowered mole. He shouldn't have been even the slightest bit intimidating but under his stern gaze I felt like shrinking into a tiny little ball.

"Yes… Izuku Midoriya, correct?"

"Yes, sir." I replied

He peered at me for a bit. "Yes… I recognize you from that slime villain video."

"Thank you sir."

"It wasn't a compliment, Midoriya."

"Oh…" I said, flushing. There were two camps of people who viewed that video. The majority thought it was really cool for a junior high-school kid to face off against a villain a band of pro-heroes had been powerless against and win, someone with a really powerful quirk unlike any seen before too.

Then there were the hard-asses. People who were justifiably upset that some kid had broken the law against power usage in public during broad daylight with a slew of witnesses including pro-heroes and instead of being given the stiffest penalty possible he had been catapulted to minor stardom.

Those people were the worst.

"Let me cut right to the chase. I don't want you here, Midoriya. The only reason we are even speaking right now is because I received at least a dozen different recommendations from a dozen pro-heroes. And even that wasn't done appropriately. Usually recommendations are sent by heroes who personally know the applicant. You were only recommended because of some viral video. I don't think that you are the type of person for U.A. I certainly don't think a future as a pro hero is something someone of your disposition should be even considered for."

"I have what it takes sir-"

Powerloader gestured to a stack of papers on his desk with my name printed on the front. "_Numerous_ reported cases of delinquent behavior, skipping school, getting into fights on a near weekly basis, repeated property damage, just what makes you think that you have what it takes, as you say?" Powerloader asked, interrupting me.

"I…" I had been ready to defend myself just moments ago, but now that he had me on the spot my mind was a blank.

Why should I be a hero? Why did I even want to be a hero? Was Powerloader right, was I fooling myself into thinking that I wanted to be a hero? No. I knew that I really wanted to be a hero. I'd never wanted anything more in my life, I'd wanted it since before I could even speak properly. I couldn't let my hero career end here, no matter what. I wanted to be a hero and I wanted to learn how to be one in the best hero school around. I'd performed really well in the written and physical test, there was no way I was going to let an interview cut my dream short.

"Honestly sir… I don't know why I want to be a hero."

"Then why are you even here, Midoriya?" He seemed flippant, but I sensed some genuine surprise and interest at my response.

"I don't know why I want to be one, it's true. But I really want to find out. And I'll do anything to do that. I know I don't have the best background on paper. I was a delinquent, just like you say I was. I didn't want to admit it- I still don't want to admit it, to be honest- but I was. I treated people like shit. I felt like I was always in the right. But I was wrong, I was wrong about everything. And now I'm trying to fix it."

Powerloader blinked.

"And you don't have any reason to pass me. In fact, just looking at all the facts on paper I don't think you should allow someone like that into U.A. But I'm begging you, Mr Powerloader. Please, please let me at least try."

Powerloader got to his feet and climbed into his power-suit, what looked like a bright yellow robot with the top and front lobbed of. A powered exo-skeleton I knew was of his own design, a robotic engineering marvel. "Well, since you've said all that it looks as though my decision's been made for me."

My heart dropped.

"Welcome to U.A. Academy, Mr Midoriya. I look forward to watching you find what it is you're looking for."

* * *

**Thank you for all the support you've given this story so far. Mimicry is shaping up to be one of the most fulfilling writing projects I've undertaken and that's thanks to your reviews, favorites, alerts and just feedback in general. I hope you continue to help me in growing this story's popularity so that it reaches more people and hopefully gives them something to enjoy. And hopefully gives me more reason to keep writing and putting in more and more effort into making it something worth reading. I know that the obstacle course test was not really fully explained in canon but I did my best in making it as close to what I think the actual recommendations exam was, if with a bit more robots. I know that there's a lot wrong with how I pulled it off but I hope you find it enjoyable and suspended your disbelief a tiny bit. The next chapter will be released in two weeks, I hope you come back to read it :)**

_**When you have the time please consider leaving a review of this story- or any other story you've enjoyed on this site. Your positive reviews and critical feedback is what writers like me use to keep writing, to face the metaphorical dragon of the empty screen.**_  
_**Thank you :)**_


	5. Chapter 5

I opened the large steel door of class 1a to find Bakugou in an animated argument with a tall, glasses-wearing teen with a stern disposition. Well, the tall teen was being rather animated. Bakugou was slumped back with his feet up on his desk, glaring comfortably.

"-it is completely disrespectful to the people who made this desk, not to mention our predecessors who used these desks before us and the institution of UA as a whole! How can you not be bothered by something like that?!"

"Huh? What are you, some type of elite? What type of school did you go to, fancy boy?!" Replied Bakugou.

The glasses-boy stood proud at the question, hand over heart and other arm tucked behind his back. "Somei Private Academy. Iida Tenya, at your service." Iida had either ignored the sarcasm or missed it entirely, but either way Bakugou didn't like the response one bit.

"Huh?" He asked, rising from his seat, a wild glint in his eye. His hands were held open and were fizzling with repressed quirk anger. An involuntary reflex when he got really upset, but one that Bakugou had used gleefully over the course of the years. I though of it as somewhat like when an animal would puff itself up to look bigger or more frightening. Sort of a 'don't mess with me' response. It was amazing how well quirks mingled with animal behavior. But perhaps the moments right before an epic fight that could destroy my classroom before I'd even had my first lesson was not the best time to be thinking of a potential new field of research?

I made to stop the fight but before I'd made a it a step further Inasa Yoroashi appeared between the two, his hands held up placatingly. "Now, now. There's no reason for this to get violent, right? We're all friends, right? We'll be together for the next few years, lets all stay on good terms, okay?"

He was still as unerringly polite as when I'd met him in the recommendations exam.

"We're not friends. Don't get all familiar with me. As far as I'm considered you're all the extras in my movie, background characters like you shouldn't get in the way. Know your place, small fry."

"Small fry? That's funny. Inasa was the second highest ranked student in the entire recommendations exam, an exam where handpicked students of the greatest caliber all across Japan are invited for an exam even more difficult to pass than the regular one… Funny that you'd consider yourself the main character when I can't remember seeing you there, Bakugou." I announced, making my presence known.

When Bakugou heard the first word his mood took a complete one-eighty. Instead of the cocksure, brazen tone he became a cold, furious image. He sat back down in his seat, sans feet on the table and glared at me, tight-lipped.

Someone else had the completely opposite reaction. Inasa bounded toward me,seamlessly using his whirlwind quirk- I I had learned what it was called- to move faster."Izuku! It's great to see you man! How have you been?" He pulled me in for a quick hug that left me uncomfortable. He was… really familiar, Inasa was.

"Nice to see you too, Inasa.""

We'd actually traded numbers after the obstacle course race and kept in somewhat frequent contact, but we'd never met in person and we certainly weren't close enough for hugs. Well, that's what I'd thought, Inasa thought differently apparently.

"Hey, aren't you the quirk stealing kid?" A happy, melodious voice rang out from the back of the class. A pink girl with horns looked at me quizzically. And by pink girl I meant that she was literally covered in a light pink fuzz. Had someone described the appearance to me I'd have thought that the pink person being described must have been nothing but a grotesque monstrosity, but the pink girl even with the brightest yellow eyes I had ever seen, still looked really normal, and dare I say it, cute.

"Well, I don't actually steal quirks, but I guess that's sort of right."

"Holy shit. It really is him! Hey man, I recognize you from that slime villain fight that's been floating around the internet for the past few months. I love that video! That's like, one of my favorite videos ever!" A spiky haired red-head exclaimed exuberantly from. He reminded me of Bakugou, if this were a Bakugou from an alternate universe who had actually been given a fun, exuberant personality instead of the hair trigger temper.

"Um, thank you-"

"Hey, hey, can you copy my quirk?" said a floating set of clothes. The voice that issued from the space above the sweater belonged to a girl. Was everyone just going to keep talking about me?

"Well, I can but it's not really as simple as all that. My quirk has some really particular set of rules and conditions gov-"

"You were just like, kablam! And that villain was just like kabloof. Hey, is it true that you're actually All Might's secret student?!" Bakugou's alternate universe twin continued, disregarding everyone else entirely.

"Well, I'm not All Migh-"

"I read that he was more like All Might's secret love child or something, a kid who inherited a power even greater than his dad's."

"Woah, woah, woah. Wait right there. I'm definitely not a bas-" I tried saying, incensed at whatever asshat on the internet had come up with that idea.

"You're totally wrong! There's no way that he could be All Might's kid! Look at him! He's got black and green hair! You couldn't get further from blonde if you tried!"

"Okay. It's starting to seem as though my opinion doesn't matter at all…" I said, clenching my jaw. Inasa chuckled. Was he getting pleasure out of this situation? The class devolved into random chattering. My appearance may have been the catalyst but pretty soon they were getting into arguments, or in the case of the girls spirited agreement and inquiry into the other's hobbies or whatever girl are wont to talk about.

The pink haired girl, Mina Ashido she introduced herself as, dragged me over to sit with some of the girls and to poke and prod at me, as though I were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. I wondered how well it would go over if I were to poke and prod at her like that five seconds after first meeting and without so much as a how do you do. It was really annoying. Inasa tagged along, ambling alongside me while Mina spoke about things I didn't bother paying attention to and punctuated her statements by jabbing at my stomach or pinching my cheeks. Inasa's apologetic shoulder tapping was the only thing keeping me from going volatile right then and I mentally forgave him for chuckling earlier.

Then a voice cut through the chatter, not loud but carrying over the loud voices in the class like a rooster cry shattering the morning still. We all went completely, deathly silent.

The door opened again, and a sleeping bag rolled into the room, stopping when it gently bumped into the teachers desk. "What the…" Mina muttered softly

The sleeping bag zipped itself open and a groggy faced, shaggy haired Japanese man peaked his head out. He looked us up and down, nodded slightly to himself then said "Five minutes, forty five seconds. That's how long it took you all to quiet down…"

He sighed and I noted that he had shadows around his eyes so dark he'd easily have been mistaken for some sort of junkie, as though he'd been on a sleep sabbatical for the past week.

"Completely disgraceful… And you're supposed to be 1A? Since you all feel confident enough to turn this classroom into a social club I think I'll have to teach you all just how it is a student of U.A. is to conduct themselves. Meet me on the sports field with your P.T. clothes on. Right now."

A bob-haired girl raised a hand nervously. "U-um, sorry sir? But aren't we supposed to be headed to the school orientation soon? The letter said-"

"Uraraka Ochako, right?" The sleeping bag man, who I was at least ninety percent sure was our class teacher or if not some crazy homeless man who'd wandered into our class, asked.

"Y-yes, sir."

"I think I should let you know that UA gives it's teachers an unprecedented amount of freedom in how they teach. This is not your regular school, so when I say that you are all to meet me outside for a physical test then you had better get to it immediately, understood?'

Uraraka shrunk."Y-yes, sir."

Aizawa nodded then got to his feet, rolling up his sleeping bag into a little bundle and stowing it away. Then he looked at us again. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Aren't you supposed to be getting to your lockers?"

We all scrambled for the door, in a controlled fashion. No need to upset the scraggly teacher any more than we'd already inadvertently done.

"Umm… You wouldn't happen to perhaps know where our locker rooms are, would you?" Inasa asked when we were outside the class.

I didn't. We all stopped and looked at each other. I don't think any of us did.

"That's why we're supposed to have a school orientation…" Mina complained.

* * *

The UA training uniform was just a plain looking tracksuit with the school colors, blue cloth with a white pattern but it was surprisingly flexible and durable. Which made sense given that a UA student had a lot more physical exercise to go through than a regular student, especially one in the hero course. I slipped my shirt on over my head and straightened it out neatly.

"Hey, Izuku right?" Kirishima, who was already in the process of tying his shoelaces, called.

"Yeah, that's my name. What do you want?" I asked, cringing internally at the bluntness. My communication skills needed work.

"That guy, with the angry vibes and weird hair, he's been glaring at you like nonstop since you stepped into class. Is he a scorned ex-lover or something?"

I choked on air, coughed then continued getting dressed. "Well…" I started, trying to think of an appropriate response. I subtly glanced at Bakugou. He had gone completely stiff, almost frozen. I could tell he was having trouble processing what had just been said. "It's more like an unrequited love thing. He is madly in love with me, but I don't return his feelings and he can't accept that. I like girls, see?"

All of us stopped changing for a moment to watch Bakugou's reaction. He was still frozen, but now the hair on his head was stood straight up, like an angry cat.

"… Yeah, I could see that." Kirishima finally said.

Then Bakugou seemed to have been unfrozen, because he stood up with crackling hands and a furious scowl, spittle flying as he shouted in complete and utter rage. "I'll fucking kill you! I'll blow you all to bits!"

He rushed at us and he was so terrifying that Kirishima actually flinched a bit, but he still held his ground. I noticed his skin seemed to harden, his skin actually becoming less glossy and skin like and more like the texture of rock. A physical enhancement quirk, something that allowed him to have a steel like composition. On the surface rather simple, but it could effectively be used to bolster attack and defense simultaneously. If this Kirishima guy used his quirk well it would be like fighting a steel beam, a steel beam that hit back.

A distortion in the air and instead of being hit with an explosion there was nothing at all. Just Bakugou stood there with his arm pointed at us, looking bewildered. Then Inasa put a hand on his shoulder. "Now then,we're supposed to be getting ready now, right? It would be pointless to fight right now. Besides, I'm sure they were just joking. They didn't really mean it, but I'm sure they're really sorry if they offended you. Please forgive them." Said Inasa bowing in apology and smiling a broad smile down at Bakugou.

Somehow Inasa had noticed the tiny sweat beads on Bakugou's palms that he used to make his explosions and while Bakugou was moving he had manipulated the air to pull that sweat off Bakugou's hand before he could explode them, letting them fall to the ground harmlessly, like when the droplets of rain were cleared off your windscreen when your car was moving fast enough. If it had been anything more than a glorified warning shot or if Bakugou had been more serious about trying to hit us it wouldn't have worked, but as it was to actually be capable of making such minute control of air, to do it so rapidly and without a split second's hesitation…

Amazing.

"Tch. Whatever. You'll see soon enough, copycat." Bakugou growled, jerking his shoulder out of Inasa's grasp.

"Thanks, Inasa." I said.

Inasa smiled "Hey, what are friends for right?"

We left the sterile smelling locker rooms led by Iida, who was coming across as a diligent sort. The rest of us hadn't known our way around, just as predicted but Ishida had apparently memorized most of the school layout before the year started. "None of you have managed to log onto the UA offical site yet? They give you a student number and code in your letters, didn't you notice? They have all sorts of information logged on there. I thought it only prudent to memorize as much relevant information as possible. It was the right thing to do." He'd said, and we'd all rolled our eyes.

The girls had been led away by the beautif- ehem, skilled Momo Yaoyorozu who had actually winded up in the same class as I had. Or maybe I'd managed to wind up in the same class as her? She had been ranked first, after all.

We made it to the sports field without any problems, where we saw a dozing Aizawa waiting.

He was actually managing to nod off while standing. When the girls showed up a minute or two later he seemed to wake up, staring at us with disdain. "So, you're all here. Slow. Really slow. I'll be expecting all of you to be a lot faster than that in the year to come."

He held up a baseball. "Now, do you know what this is?"

"A baseball?" Mina replied.

"Sort of. But this is a special ball. It has a sensor inside that allows me to track it's distance. Makes it a lot easier to measure how far it's thrown, see?"

"So we're going to be seeing how far we can throw a ball."

"Yes. And a lot more."

A physical test then, something like the physical conditioning tests we'd do several times a year to see how healthy we all were. And something I had routinely skipped because it was way too much effort… Yeah. This wasn't going to be fun.

"But there's a twist."

I perked up.

"For this test you'll all not only be allowed to use your quirks, but expected to."

Uraraka held up her hand "But sir, we aren't allowed to use our quirks during physical exams, it's not fair to the other students with weaker quirks."

"You again, Uraraka? What did I tell you in class— when a teacher says to do something you do it. UA has allowed us to teach our students how we see fit, to turn them into strong heroes the best way we know how, not the best way the government thinks is safe and lawful. What does it matter to a villain whether you follow the rules of fair play or not? It doesn't. Not a single bit. If you want to expand your limits you need to know where they are." He held the ball aloft. "Thus, this test… Bakugou Katsuki. You held the highest score in the entrance exam correct?"

Bakugou smirked. "Yes, I did."

"What was your best throw in junior high?"

"About sixty-five metres." Bakugou said without a second thought. It was a very respectable number after all.

"Try it now, with your quirk."

Bakugou seemed gleeful at the prospect, making his way toward the throwing ring with teeth showing like a shark. He rolled his right arm in circles to loosen up, took the ball from our teacher and threw it into the distance. "Die!" he shouted, as a huge explosion roared overhead. It was nearly twice as large as the largest explosion I'd ever seen him use before. Either he had been holding back a lot or his quirk had gotten much stronger in the months since we'd last had a serious scuffle. For some reason I though that he was picturing me as a target when he threw the ball…

"… That guy's nuts." Kirishima muttered nearby. He was probably right.

The ball flew, dispersing a cloud as it soared. "958.3 meters." The teacher announced, holding up the display of the ball tracking device. Bakugou was more than ten times stronger with his quirk than without, that was incredible. That sort of force… It could pulverize skulls, tear down buildings.

Bakugou backed away from the shot and stared at me, fury in his eyes. Now I was sure that he'd pictured me when taking that shot.

Excited talk broke out among the class, with many people in awe of Bakugou's strength.

"So, it seems none of you have learned your lesson yet. Okay then. Let's make things more interesting. The person who gets last place overall will be permanently expelled from UA."

"No way! That's so not cool, teach!" Mina complained.

"Oh, did you want to go first, Ashido?"

Mina shrinked back. "… No sir."

The rest of us had to line up, alphabetically, to take our own turns. Some, like Inasa and my fellow recommendations exam participants put up scores right up there with Bakugou's insane number, Momo actually beating his score by going around a corner out of sight and coming back with a new, shiny portable cannon. She scored over a kilometre.

Others, like Kirishima and Koji didn't have quirks that directly strengthened their physical abilities all that much and had scores pretty much identical to their previous junior high scores except that their physical abilities must have improved as they worked toward the UA entrance exam.

It was much the same for our next test. Momo ducked out of sight again then came back with a motorized scooter and zipped around the track for our distance run while I was left huffing and puffing, using Inasa and Iida's quirk to move faster than most of the class but struggling so much with my stamina that I didn't rise higher than halfway up the pack. I did better in the distance run, barely ranking in the top five. Inasa breezed- no pun intended- through the dash, taking third place to a motorcycle-sporting Momo and a track-obliterating Bakugou respectively. Todoroki took fourth and I came in just behind him, the three quirks I'd used still not enough to overcome the sheer gap in skill.

And so it went through the rest of the torturous test. I would get middling results, sometimes somewhere in the middle and sometimes near the front of the pack. It was beyond infuriating. I couldn't recall being so angry since the obstacle course race in the recommendations exam.

"You okay, Izuku?" Inasa asked, usual grin replaced by concerned frown.

I took a calming breath. "Yeah… Just… Great…" I answered, jaw clenched.

Inasa nodded, then gave a light laugh and a pat to my shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about the results. You said it yourself, you've still got a long way to go, right? This just gives you something to shoot for!"

I smiled despite myself. That was a really cool way of looking at it, I thought. "… Thanks."

He gave a thumbs up. "Don't worry about it. I'll give you a good kick in the behind whenever you need it, you can count on that."

I laughed then quickly composed myself. Aizawa was staring at me again, an intense look in his eyes. He'd been shooting glances like that since he first saw me in class. He really didn't like talking during class or either he really didn't like me. I guessed it was the latter, for some reason. Why didn't these teachers like me?

"Something you need to share with the rest of us, Midoriya?" Aizawa asked coolly.

"No sir. Sorry about that."

"I should hope so, Midoriya. You can come up next to the sandbox, since your mouth volunteered on your behalf."

I sighed. "Yes, sir…" I copied Inasa's quirk again and took my place at the starting line of the sandbox jump. With a yell I took off the line, wind spurring me on. With the experience from jumping the earthen walls in the obstacle course race I easily flew over the pit. Back in junior high I'd outright refused to do these tests without my quirk but I guessed that I would have landed somewhere in the middle of the pit. Now I soared over, jumping at least four times the distance with little to no effort. I considered using explosions to propel myself even more but that would be completely pointless, and Mr Aizawa was definitely looking for a reason to shove me into detention.

"Good job!" Inasa congratulated "You're actually getting really good at using Whirlwind. I'll give you some pointers when we hang out after class sometime and you'll be outdoing me in no time!"

"You're actually giving him advice on how to use your quirk? You're a fool." Todoroki, so far almost entirely quiet, said.

Inasa actually growled at him. His face turned vicious, dark. He barely looked like the same person. He actually seemed… dangerous. I don't know what went on between the two of them after the recommendations exam but something must have happened, because Inasa seemed ready to punch Todoroki and Todoroki seemed to be deliberately goading Inasa into it. "Shut up, Shouto. Of course a poor excuse for a hero like you would say something like that. It's not like Izuku steals quirks, he copies them. If I give him some pointers it doesn't take anything away from me. It actually makes the class as a whole stronger."

"Doesn't your time count as something he'd be taking away? But I suppose your time isn't worth much either way…"

Inasa twitched.

"Hey," I called to Todoroki "Leave Inasa alone. What's your problem anyway? Go bother someone else or keep your mouth shut."

Todoroki scoffed and looked away, I definitely hadn't scored any friendship points but he kept his trap shut which was the whole point in the first place.

Inasa was somewhat reticent for the rest of the physical test, but I didn't hold it against him. A final surprisingly good result in seated toe touches pushed me up a position, I finished seventh in the test and a voice in my head muttered 'pathetic', but I did my best to ignore it. Inasa had been right, it was just another reason for me to work harder and get better. A squawked cry of indignation caught my attention. Hagakure- the invisible girl- was on her hands and knees, tears pooling in her invisible eyes. A look back at the class results revealed that she was the lowest ranked student in class. That meant that her stay at UA was about to be cut short…

"Oh, and about having one of you failed? That was just a joke. You're free to leave." Said Mr Aizawa nonchalantly.

Or not.

Hagakure breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, of course it was a test. There was no way a teacher of UA would expel a student without due reason. This was just a ploy to make sure we all tried our best." Momo said, reminding me of the good little girls in my primary school who would always annoyingly point out something they thought the rest of us were too stupid to guess, blissful at the thought of sharing their knowledge and blissfully unaware at just how annoying they were. It was the first time that I thought that maybe Momo wasn't a plant. There was no reason a plant would try to have the rest of the class incensed at them. No way to get any information if nobody wanted to talk to you, see.

Some of the girls helped Hagakure back up and celebrated with her. There was an air of congratulation and excitement, and instead of being annoyed at Momo they all took it in stride. There was a glow, an excitement to the girls that a little bit of snobbish-ness couldn't smother. The whole class was excited actually, even if you'd have a pretty hard time noticing that in some of them were if you looked at them. None of us had really had free reign of our quirks in the past, even if we used them were were always fearful of getting into trouble, ever watchful. Well, I mean, most of us had. Now, in our first few hours at UA we'd used them in ways we'd never given a second thought to doing before. It was a delightful taste of the classes that were to come.

"You can all get going already… Except Izuku Midoriya. You can wait right here, Midoriya."

Aizawa was looking at me sternly and I wondered just what his problem with me was. "Okay, Mr Aizawa. I'll wait right here." Everyone else scattered.

"Hey, Izuku. We're heading home together after school, right?" Inasa asked, tapping me on the shoulder.

I grinned wide. "Yeah, sure. That'd be great."

"Yoroashi, I didn't ask for you to stay as well. Leave."

Inasa flushed, giving several bows in apology. "I'm so sorry, sir! I'll leave right away! It won't happen again!"

Aizawa sighed tiredly and rubbed at his temple. "… That's okay, Yoroashi. Just leave already."

"Ahh, yes sir!" Inasa bowed one more time before leaving. Kirishima and some of the other guys were waiting on him, probably to ask if he knew what my staying behind was all about.

"… Izuku Midoriya. Your score in the test was quite good. One of the best performances I've seen in a long time. Certainly enough to label you a prodigy…"

I remained quiet.

"But… I've done some digging on you. We're forced to research all our students see, to get to know them better so we can tailor our approach to each… It's a pain in the neck, but I can't argue that it's not worth the effort. And some things I've found have made me very interested in you, Midoriya. And so I'll be giving you another test, right now."

I was already a bit tired, but I knew from his discussions with Uraraka that any complaint would be met with UA allows it's teachers a great deal of freedom and etcetera, so I only nodded and replied in the affirmative. "Okay then Mr Aizawa, what do you want me to do?"

"The entire physical test. Without your quirk."

Then his eyes glowed and I couldn't sense the gaping void of his quirk anymore. He had erased my quirk, and I hated him in that moment. There was no need to do that. I hated the feeling of not having my quirk around, it was comforting. The only quirk in range was his own and that wouldn't be any use to me in the test. This was probably another test of his. "I'll get right to it then." I gritted out.

The next thirty minutes was torture. I was nearly as worn out now as I had been after pushing myself to the limit in the recommendations exam. Aizawa didn't give me any breaks, it was straight from one test to the next. My muscles ached and trembled and my breath came in pants and gasps. And my performance had still not been good. Not close to good.

"That was… Perhaps the most pathetic showing of a UA student I have ever seen. I've watched first year junior high girls put up better numbers than you and finish without being so much as winded. Pathetic."

I clawed at the ground in anger and bit back an angry retort. I was fucking pissed. I'd done the best I could and he thought I was a damned joke?

"It seems that I was right about you. You are a pathetic excuse for a hero in training."

Oh… Now that, that stung. I had to blink back a tear from my eye.

"Other people may look at you, or that video you're so proud of and see a great hero in training, I look at it and see someone who'll never make it into the major leagues. Oh, you'll probably pass and become a hero, that's true. But you'll forever be an obscurity, that slime villain incident will be the crowning jewel of your career, a lucky mistake that gave you fifteen minutes of fame."

I was by now so angry that I couldn't help myself. "Do you even know what I'm capable of? Have you even researched me or are you just pulling things out of your ass?"

"Oh, I have researched you alright. I know you better than you know yourself. Nearly perfect marks across every subject you've taken, an IQ higher than ninety percent of the population, remarkable reflexes. An amazing quirk used so fluidly and with enough intelligence that you can and have been capable of dissecting a quirk apart and using it in ways the user themselves had never imagined, with a capacity for growth unprecedented. You have all the right ingredients to be a marvel."

"Then what do you mean by saying that I'll be little more than an obscurity? Are you talking about my attitude? I know it needs more work, but I've been givi-"

"No. Attitude is overrated. You are lazy."

"Lazy? What do you mean?" And wasn't laziness an attitude? I suppose not.

"You are amazingly naturally gifted, I didn't think it could be possible for one person to be blessed with so much natural talent. But I don't think I've seen a hero in training who had ever done as little dedicated training as you have. What was your physical training like to enter UA?"

"Well… I didn't really do any dedicated training per say, I would just go for a jog with my mom a few times a week and if she was up to it we'd do some calisthenics back home." I'd read online that people who exercised together wound up getting closer, it was supposed to be a great way to bond. I'd brought it up to my mom so that we could get closer and she'd actually been really excited about it. She wanted to get back in shape, she'd said.

"And what do you think your classmates training routines have been like?" Aizawa asked, looking at me intently.

"I- I don't know." But I could guess that it was a lot more intense than mine was. I hadn't given it real thought, but now that Aizawa brought it up I was starting to see his point. My physical conditioning was terrible in comparison to my classmates.

"Maybe you aren't taking this seriously enough…" Aizawa suddenly said, pausing. "How about this then. I'm going to test you again at the end of the semester and if you don't meet my personal standards I'll expel you from UA. Is that motivation enough?"

My eyes widened. "W-wait, but that's not fair! I passed the test fair and score, I was one of the best ranked students in the recommendations exam! You, you can't do something like that just because my physical training is lagging behind a bit!"

Aizawa stepped closer to me, staring me straight in the eyes with venom. "I guarantee you that I can, and I will." He stared at me, red eyes unblinking. "You've ridden on the coat tails of your natural talent. I don't believe you've really had to work for anything in your life. You're just an entitled brat with delusions of grandeur. But that's all in the past. Because if you don't put everything into this class, every drop of effort you possess in that beanpole body into your training I _will_ boot you from this school. That I guarantee. And let me be frank, I don't think it's possible for you, because frankly I don't see how it's possible for a lazy bum like you to become an athletic hero in training in just a few months. You'll probably fail. I don't expect you to be as fit as most of the students in the class for your next test. I expect you to be as fit as someone with a quirk like yours should have been. But at least I'd have given you a shot."

* * *

My fingers glided, frantically, over the keyboard. The fast click-click of my mouse as I moved through pages on the internet mixed with the click-click-clacking of my keyboard til it became the soundtrack of my agonizing mind. I was, on the advice of Iida, on the official UA website, available only to active UA students and faculty. It was actually very well designed and had lots of information about the class material, advice from students who'd made it through to become real, true pro-heroes and lots of other information more interesting than I'd thought it would be. But I wasn't interested in any of that right then. No, I was looking for information on Aizawa.

He had joked about expelling some of us in his first test, how could I be sure that he hadn't been joking to me? How could I just take what he said at face value? No, I needed to be sure. But all the information I'd managed to find seemed to point out that not only was Aizawa not joking but he was in fact even more dangerous than I'd dared to hope against. His entire, entire previous 1A class had been expelled wholesale. Not a single student from last year's 1A had made it to their second day at UA. In the message boards, my primary information source on Aizawa, I had come across message boards filled with complaints, jokes from students about the man and stories of students who weren't even taught by Aizawa but who'd been expelled by the man for seemingly arbitrary reasons. The guy was a monster.

I let out a cry of despair. I couldn't believe this. I had already had to beg Mr Powerloader to let me into UA, and now even after being confirmed as being one of the best students in 1A my stay would probably be coming to a close in three months, just after I'd managed to actually make real friends for the first time in years. I really liked Inasa, he was a really good guy and his skill with his quirk was amazing. And I felt like the rest of the class could become really good friends too. So why did I have to get this jackass of a teacher?!

A gentle rapping came at my door. "Izuku? Izuku, darling, is everything alright? Are you okay?"

I took a calming breath. "Y-yes mom, everything is fine."

She was quiet, then called to me again. "Could I come in honey?"

"O-okay mom."

Mom gave me a tight hug. "Now, what's really the matter? You know you can talk to me, right? We- we've gotten really close recently, I don't want you to keep secrets from me Izuku. You can tell me anything."

I debated telling her. On one hand I didn't want her to worry about me anymore, but on the other I knew that if I didn't tell her she'd feel terrible and if I lied she'd be able to tell and that would be no better. "It's… my new teacher at UA. Mr. Aizawa."

Mom's brows raised. "What did that man do to you? He didn't hurt you did he? I'll-"

"Mom, no, nothing like that. Nothing like what you're thinking. He- threatened to expel me from UA at the end of the semester if I dont put a lot more effort into my training. He says I've been lazy, that I've just used my natural talents to coast."

"How dare he! I'll call the office right now and give that man a piece of my mind!" Mom announced and made to leave for the kitchen, where our landline was. I grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Mom, no. Stop."

"Why should I? Honey, this man can't just, just expel you because he feels like it. He's wrong, you're a very hard worker!"

I stared at the floor. "Mom… no. No, I'm not. Aizawa… He's right. He's right. I've never really done any training, I've barely studied, I've just gotten by. I can't do that anymore…"

Mom stopped struggling and looked at me tenderly, rubbing at my cheek. "Oh, Izuku…"

"But… I don't think I can do it, mom. I don't think I can meet his ridiculous standards by the end of the semester… How much better can anyone really get in just three months? I… I don't see how it's possible… I don't even know where to start." I laughed, but it came out strangled, choked.

Mom looked at me for a bit longer, then left the room. I heard scrabbling and things being moved about in the main bedroom for a while and wondered just what it is she was looking for. She came back a few minutes later, hands behind her back.

"Mom, what do you have there?" I asked, gesturing towards her.

"I think you're wrong, Izuku."

I blinked. "Sorry? I dont understand what you mean."

"I think you can definitely do it… I think you can definitely pass this Aizawa's test, whatever it is. Maybe I'm a little biased, but I made a promise to myself all those years ago that I'd never, ever stop believing in you ever again and ever since you've never failed to reach my expectations even a single time. You're an amazing son, Izuku."

Then she held out a dirty, worn old notebook. On it, written in shaky script were the words hero analysis #1, the words were colored in crayon. A wave of nostalgia passed over me. I remembered this book… I'd started it back in preschool, a month or two after my trip to the quirk doctor, when he had falsely diagnosed me as quirkless. I think I'd gotten the idea from old cartoons, that if I knew my enemies, if I knew how quirks worked, knew everything about them I could find ways to fight even if I was weak and didn't have a quirk. I'd even been fool enough to think that maybe I could make my own quirk somehow. It had been cast aside and forgotten just as soon as I awoke my quirk and I'd never given it another thought since. Until now.

"Mom… That's… Thank you." I said, touched at the gesture. I took the offered book and paged it open. There was nothing really spectacular in those pages. Nothing amazing. I'd drawn some barely decipherable diagrams and sketches of some of my old favorite heroes and listed everything I knew about their quirks, anything I thought they could do. It was a little embarrassing actually. But, with it I knew I could analyze the people around me, their quirks, their habits, their fighting style, even my own quirk to a level that I couldn't have done just in my head. I could think up ways to use Inasa's quirk for example, come up with ways to combat Bakugou's new strength and even use Momo's unbelievably complex quirk myself.

I felt like the possibilities were endless. But even so, analyzing by itself wasn't going to be enough. I was going to have to train, and train as if my life depended on it. Because, in a very tangible way, it did.

* * *

**I know that Inasa didn't accept his entrance into UA in canon, but here Izuku made a good impression on him that made him rethink accepting. So class 1A now has four students who passed the recommendation exam, which shouldn't be the case I know but I still can't fathom why anyone would limit the amount of students who can get in from recommendations. Nezu is one of the smartest beings in the world, how does a system that prevents the most talented, most lauded students from being accepted make sense? Maybe I'm just not smart enough to fathom the complexities of his mind but I love the characters enough that I wanted them in the story and I really like Inasa as a character, both because of his attitude and amazingly powerful quirk, and I wanted to see more of him. I hope you'll come to like him as a character and ignore little 'errors' that pop up in the making of this story. Sometimes I just really want to see things in a story and insert those things into my own, perhaps with too little thought. Also, just to make it clear Mineta isn't in class 1A in this story. His spot was snatched up by Inasa, so the pervy comic relief will have to be made up for in other ways. I apologize.**

**Again, I hope that you enjoy where this story is going and hope you suspend your disbelief and that hyper-analytical part of yourself that likes picking holes in things, at least a bit. I do as much research as needed to possible while holding onto my sanity which means that there may be plot holes scattered throughout. Please ignore them and thank you for reading this, for supporting this in any way you do, whether that's by reviewing or favoriting or even just appreciating it for what it is- a flawed but hopefully entertaining work of fiction. Next chapter up in two weeks, I've gotten into a good rythm and hope to keep it up.**

_**When you have the time please consider leaving a review of this story- or any other story you've enjoyed on this site. Your positive reviews and critical feedback is what writers like me use to keep writing, to face the metaphorical dragon of the empty screen.**_  
_**Thank you :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

The cafeteria at UA had one of the greatest buffets I had ever come across. The greatest range, the highest quality… The food was really great too. But I didn't care much about that. No, the quirks… The quirks were amazing. Fantastic. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

My hand scrawled across the journal page, wildly taking notes or drawing rudimentary sketches. My eyes flitted around the place, pausing to focus on a particularly eye-catching specimen then flitting away to find another. My fingers had already grown numb, painfully so, several times. But one of the students had a Perfect Control quirk and so I switched to my left until the right recovered, writing just as well with my left hand as I had with my right. With 'Perfect Control' I could have used my feet to write, if something like that wouldn't have caused any surrounding student to hurl a lunch tray at me or something.

Lunch was only thirty minutes in and I had already filled nearly seven pages, notes on the quirks of the people in the room. The gist of what they did, how I could use them, how I thought they could be used. There was a light production quirk I could use to create painful flashes of light to distract opponents or give me a brief reprieve in a fight, there was a sticky mucus quirk that I thought could be used to spray glue-trap puddles all over the ground in enclosed areas and turn a perfectly normal-looking corridor into a sticky situation, there were quirks for every occasion.

I should have been giving preferential attention to my classmates, getting to know the quirks I would be in most contact with for the next few years- if I passed Aizawa's test, my mind reminded- but I had barely scribbled anything about them at all.

"Really? Someone with a candy-making quirk? So, does that mean that they can make really good candy if they cook or does it mean that they actually, like shoot balls of candy?"

Inasa's voice came from beside me. He was leaning over his emptied cafeteria dish and reading my notes. I jerked the book away. "… How long have you been reading for?"

Inasa blinked. "As soon as I got back with my food. Why?"

"It's not really something I want other people reading."

"Trying to keep it secret?" Inasa asked

I shook my head. "No. Nothing like that… It's just, my notes are still really terrible. I only picked up this hobby again last night, and I'd never really had much experience with it anyway, so my notes are terrible. It's really embarrassing that you read them, actually…"

Inasa's brow raised. "… Really? I thought that, since you have the copying quirk you'd been doing this forever. It makes sense for someone with a quirk like that to analyze people with quirks, right?"

"My quirk is called_ Mimicry_, actually." I noted "And I suppose that it never occurred to me to do it for some reason until my mom gave me an old notebook of mine from when I was a lot younger. I guess that I was already used to analyzing quirks in real-speed, I didn't give any thought to doing it any other way."

"So, up until now you've just analyzed and learned to use quirks on the spot?"

"Well… Some quirks are really similar, so it doesn't take that much effort to learn to use them since you're not really starting from scratch. But yeah, I guess I am."

"Wow… That's amazing!"

A timid looking girl nearby threw up her plate in surprise at the shout. "Shh… Quiet down already, Inasa. I don't think the other student's are as impressed as you are."

Inasa blushed red. "Yes… Sorry, everybody!" He shouted in apology.

"Just shut up!" Somebody called out in reply.

I sighed, then grinned and opened my notebook again, turning it just enough so that Inasa could see without having to hover over my shoulder. Inasa was just so earnest, like an excitable puppy. "What class is up next?" I asked idly, continuing my analysis of the candy creation quirk— which actually turned inert material into candy with a touch- a candy Midas.

* * *

Class 1A sat in a quiet tx classroom, no teacher to be seen nearly ten minutes into the class. I was getting really antsy, quietly waiting with nothing to do except sit and twiddle my thumbs. Eijiro broke the silence.

"Hey, who do you guys think our professor will be?"

The Foundational Hero Studies class, unlike any of our other classes, didn't have any class teacher listed. It was a secret, the school website had said it was to protect the class teacher's privacy until the school year started so that 'they' could get their affairs in order. It was implied that the teacher was an active pro-hero, but the school website had gone to significant lengths to ensure that even that much was obscured. But it was clear that whoever the teacher was he would be a hero, UA's hero studies course was exclusively taught by heroes, as it should be. I would never stoop so low as to be taught how to be a hero by some economics professor or something. Having a Pro License was the minimum qualifications required.

"Hey, Mr Kirishima, please quiet down. The last time we spoke in class our teacher punished us. We need to respect the school teachers wishes!" Iida Tenya, the tall glasses-wearing Somei graduate said.

I got what he was saying. It was why even Bakugou was sitting quietly now, glaring at me hatefully from the back of the class. "Pfft, don't worry about that. And call me Eijiro, we're classmates right? And I'm not being that loud anyway."

"I insist that you-"

"What passion! I knew that UA was the best school for me!" Inasa called.

"You're being too loud!" Iida complained

"Uhm… Bro, you're the one that's shouting." Kirishima said

"Forgive me, I was just trying to explain that we should all just sit quietly and continue waiting for the teacher."

"Hey, I hear you man. But it's not like I'm just chatting away, right? I'm asking something relevant to the class, it's like… if we were talking about equations or numbers or something like that in math class the teacher couldn't get angry, right?"

Iida paused, trying to contemplate the riddle. "I… don't think so?"

"Exactly!" Kirishima continued "So, I'm just asking if anyone has any clue who our teacher will be."

"It's got to be a pro-hero, right?" Mina said, eager to break the silence.

"It has to be. This is UA we're talking about." Eijiro replied, to a chorus of agreements.

"Maybe… Gang Orca? Giro." Tsuy, the frog-quirk girl said.

"No way, a hero that high ranked would never settle into a teaching position. That's like admitting that you've lost your edge."

"You're totally wrong! Cementoss is better than he's ever been and he teaches here, so does Snipe. In fact, pretty much all the major teachers here are top-class heroes who still do hero-work when they're not teaching."

"… I'd never thought of that…" Kirishima said "You think they could get someone like Edgeshot?"

"Hey, it's a Foundational class. What pro-heroes would want to teach a class like that?"

Just then a call came from further down the hall, a powerful voice echoing through the passage. "Never fear! Why…" the voice was familiar, very familiar.

Kirishima leaned forward in his chair. "No way… It can't be…"

The classroom door burst open violently, and I noticed that the hinges had been strengthened to a ridiculous degree in preparation for just this. "… I am here!" All Might stood in the front of his class, hands on his hips and chest proudly jutting out.

"Finally…" Bakugou groaned from up back.

"All Might! No way, you're our teacher?! This is awesome!" Kaminari exclaimed.

Inasa had the widest smile I'd ever seen on a human being plastered all across his face. I think I must have been grinning nearly as widely myself. All Might had always been my childhood hero, and he was even more so now. These last few months had been some of the best of my life, and it was all thanks to his wake-up call. I owed him more than I could ever repay.

"It is indeed, 'awesome' as you say… But we have no time for small-talk young people! No, the job of a hero is never over and the work of a hero in training can't wait!"

And yet we've been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes… the snide voice in my head muttered.

We all hurriedly opened our notebooks and scrambled for our pens.

"No, we'll not be doing anything like writing notes. Not in this class, at least. No, the best way to learn is by doing, by putting your all into something and trying to improve! You'll all don your hero gear today… And you'll wear them every other time you have this class."

I grinned in excitement. I'd been right, UA really was the best hero school out there.

* * *

The changing rooms in the simulation area were a lot shinier, a lot more polished than regular ones were. It were as though special respect was being given to the hero uniforms, that putting them on was something more important than putting on a track uniform or a school blazer. It was a reminder that the life of a hero was to be treated with seriousness…

That reminder was also being ruined by Kaminari making fart jokes and Yuga whispering sweet nothings to himself in the mirror, a narcissist if there ever was one. "How beautiful… How extravagant… You are tres magnifique."

The whole scene was ridiculously off-putting. I exchanged a look of disbelief with Inasa.

"Let's get going! Hurry up, hurry up!" Iida Tenya urged us faster once again. It was all very characteristic of him.

After dragging Yuga's form away from the mirror we all entered the command room of Ground Beta- a dark room lit by the light of over fifty monitors displaying the battle area, a regular looking- by design- set of city blocks. Every floor had surveillance, every nook and cranny up for the monitor's to see. All Might stood in the room, looking larger than life. An action hero in the flesh.

"It is often the case that a hero team needs to extract an object of importance away from a villain base." All Might started without preamble "In that case the hero team has to be very delicate in the way they approach the scene. Traps may have been set, their may be more villains than predicted, a whole slew of factors can influence the outcome of a mission like that. And so an extraction mission requires a certain level of experience. You will be getting some of that experience today."

All Might grinned."Of course, we can't exactly send you into real extraction situations quite yet… But I'm sure if you work hard enough and study long enough you'll be out in the field in no time! No… Instead you will be paired up at random with another partner and be assigned either the role of hero or of villain."

Iida called "Random? What sort of way to assign partners is that? I'd have though a school as prestigious as UA would take more care and consideration when assigning partners."

All Might looked taken aback and made to answer but Momo politely lifted her hand in the air.

"Uhm… Yes, Ms… Yoazu was it?"

"Momo Yaoyorozu, sir."

All Might blushed. "Ahh.. Yes, forgive me. I haven't managed to find the time to look through all the class roster with enough care quite yet. What did you wantt to say, Ms Yoayorozu?"

"I wanted to say that the method of choosing partners was not done for no reason. In real life heroes are more often than not forced to partner up without arrangement, and so have to learn how to co-operate quickly and efficiently with a range of different people."

Iida nodded thoughtfully, hand on his chin. "Amazing. While I was thinking of it that way the test was a whole lot more prepared for than I could have imagined. I'm sorry for the interruption, All Might sir." Iida apologized.

"No problem, Mr Tenya. Now as I was saying you will be partnered at random, and to do that we have…" He pulled out a bowl filled with folded bits of paper. "Ta-da! Now please come up in an orderly fashion and take one paper each. On it you will find a number, you will be paired with the student who has the same number. Odd numbers will be villain teams, even numbers will be heroes."

I took a paper. It was numbered two. "Now, please hold up your numbers and look around for your partners.

I searched through the raised numbers. Momo stared at me, holding my matching number. We were partners it seems, and that made me a little nervous, for whatever reason. I shrugged it off and strode over.

"So partners, right."

"Yes…" Momo said tentatively.

"Well," I continued "lets work well together, okay?"

She gave a faint smile."Okay."

"Can numbers one and two please and make for the exit into the simulation area." Momo and I strode forward awkwardly, still unfamiliar with one anther. The villain team was probably the last one I wanted to be paired against. The diligent Iida Tenya, and a snarling, glaring Bakugou. It looked like he was going to have the chance to get even with me— for whatever thing he felt I had wronged him over- a lot sooner than he'd expected. I felt even more nervous. I didn't know how but Bakugou's quirk had gotten stronger, a lot stronger in the past few months. He had gotten a lot stronger too, he looked even more muscular and brutish than Inasa did, with shoulders that stood like bowling balls. Powerful explosions shot from the hands placed a lot of force on the shoulder girdle, but this was a bit much.

"Good luck, you guys." I said to Bakugou and Iida "May the best team win."

Iida smiled and nodded. "Yes, same to you, Mr Midoriya."

Bakugou just glared.

* * *

Momo and I waited in the entrance to the simulation building, earpieces on and connected to the command room. All Might had given both teams five minutes to prepare ourselves, enough time to come up with a simple plan. He'd also told us that in the future he might give us no time to prepare at all, and that we should start thinking of ways to prepare on the fly.

There was an air of awkwardness, Momo bit her lip lightly and I began bouncing on on my heels. My books had told me that to start a conversation with someone you needed to be polite and use an icebreaker- a non personal question about something that was happening right then, or had happened recently. Politics, religion and sexuality were a no-no. "Hey, how did you get past the robots?"

I had been wondering about that for months. Todoroki and Inasa, some of the strongest people I had ever met had both been held up by the giant robots for a good while. I had only managed to get through without taking them all down because of lucky timing. Momo had been so far ahead of her pack that no-one could possibly have helped her take down the bots and her time in the test was so far ahead of even Inasa's that I couldn't help but wonder how she had defeated them so quickly.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about." Momo said, looking apologetic.

"The exam, the recommendations exam. In the obstacle course race we had to get by a load of those giant robots. I was wondering how you managed to destroy them so quickly, you were way ahead of the rest of us. I'm just curious, I guess."

She had a creation quirk, she could literally create materials and devices from some sort of personal energy source. Could she have actually created a hydrogen bomb or something similar? Some sort of concentrated explosive device?

"Oh, that's because I didn't fight them at all."

I paused. Had I been right, had she been a plant meant to spy on us all along? But why was she admitting it to me? "You… didn't fight them?"

"No." Momo said "I noticed in the maze that the robots the school had sent after us used heat sensors as their sole means of sight, if you could call it that. So I just created a heat shield and stayed under it, with a few holes to see from. But that would be too small for them to detect, you see?"

"Wow… That's really cool. Your quirk is so cool." I'd love to test it out myself. That hydrogen bomb idea had merit though, imagine creating a nuke at will?

"So…" Momo began "You wouldn't perhaps be able to detect those two right now would you?"

With my unconventional ice-breaker behind us we were feeling less awkward.

"You know about my quirk?" I asked, surprised.

She blushed. "I heard you muttering about it in the cafeteria this morning, about how there were so many delicious quirks within range…"

I blushed worse than she did. "Yeah… I thought I was over that habit… Well, I can't sense them at all right now but that's actually just as good as sensing them."

"Why?" Momo asked.

"Well, it means that they're on the top floor. My quirk field ends just beneath the top floor, and there are no basement floors here." Walls and buildings in general put a damper on my range.

Momo paused. "Good… Okay, I think I have a plan. We'll create some sort of distraction to put them on edge, then set traps all over to catch them. You'll have to act as a distraction and a lure to get them to leave the nuke and hold them off long enough for me to lay traps, but-"

"That won't work." I said stopping her.

Momo frowned. "It's not the best plan, I'll admit but I think that given what we have to work with it's best not to face them head on, especially not near the nuke. In a real life situation fighting villains around something like that could be disastrous."

"I agree with you, we should definitely try to minimize structural damage… But I know that won't work because Bakugou is not going to wait patiently with Iida and the bomb."

"And why not?" she asked

"Because he's coming straight for me as soon as All Might says 'start', and he doesn't know the meaning of subtle."

Momo's eyes widened. "You can't be serious… Why would he do something like that? To approach us both at the same time, without backup… He may as well be handing the nuke over to us. How can you be sure of something like that?"

"I've known him since kindergarten. Since before, actually. Our relationship is kind of… complex." Friends turned enemies turned rivals turned enemies again? Was that what it was?

Momo blushed again. "So, what Kirishima told us in class was true… You two were lovers, and after you broke up with him Bakugou resented you?"

I was going to murder Eijiro. Forget turning over a new leaf. "No! I'm not gay, alright?! It's never been like that between Bakugou and I! We were friends once, and then after our quirks developed we became rivals… So don't go around saying something like that!"

Momo apologized. "Sorry, please forgive me for saying that. It was very inappropriate. I should have known Kirishima was only joking, Mina said as much. Sorry!"

I sighed. "… It's okay. It was just a joke anyway, I shouldn't have taken it so seriously. Anyway, we need to focus on the test."

"You're right," she agreed "so we should just wait around here and take Bakugou out before going up to face Iida?"

"Don't underestimate Bakugou. He's dangerous. I don't think I can protect you and fight him at the same time, It'll be hard enough matching him at all what with his apparent newfound training obsession."

Momo frowned. "And why do I need protection at all? You say I shouldn't underestimate Bakugou but it seems as though you're underestimating me."

"I'm sorry, but you just don't understand how destructive Bakugou's quirk can be. Your quirk is amazing, and I'm sure that given enough time you can make something really powerful but you just don't have the sort of raw fighting experience to take on Bakugou."

"And how would you know something like that?" She asked, a dangerous lilt to her voice. "You don't know me at all."

I glanced at her, staring her up and down. She was by no means fat- or even chubby- but she had a smooth sort of look that made her seem as if she wasn't very used to physical work.

"Y-you pervert!" She claimed, blushing and trying- and failing- to cover her large boobs.

I waved my hands to hold off any slap I knew usually came after something like that. "No, no, no. I wasn't trying to look at you like that." You were. The voice in my head said. "I mean, you're pretty and all but I was just trying to politely point out that you don't exactly look like someone who's seen many fights is all!"

She didn't attack me, but the blush remained. "Oh. Well, you definitely don't look like you can fight either. Your arms are thinner than mine!"

Okay, that stung. I was definitely glad that I'd be starting that physical training now. "Look, I'm not sure that I can take Bakugou at all. But the two of us have fought dozens of times in the past and I've come out on top just as often as he has. I have the most experience in dealing with him than anyone."

"Even you admit that you probably can't take him alone. So let me help you and we can go up to the bomb together! It's the best chance we have! What would you do anyway, try to use his quirk against him? He's better than you with his quirk and he's stronger than you without it too. You're being just as stupid as he is and throwing the whole match because of a petty rivalry."

"I don't have just his quirk to work with. I have yours too."

Momo laughed. "My quirk? I'm sorry, just because you can copy a quirk doesn't mean you can use it. It took me years to create even simple things consistently. Do you even understand how my quirk works?"

Instead of answering I lifted my shirt, made a gripping motion with my hand at my belly button, and pulled out a sword. It was slightly misshapen. Okay, really misshapen. But it could still cut, and it could still give me a reach advantage against Bakugou, enough to maybe even things out a bit. "You have to mentally picture the material, the shape, the features in an unbelievably precise fashion, down to the molecular level. And if the object is composed of many materials, or it relies on extremely minute components with an industry degree of precision… Honestly, it's really amazing how you manage to create things so complex. Really, really amazing."

I had tried to seem nonchalant about the whole thing but mentally picturing that sword had taken a whole lot of mental flexing, an intense concentration that I hadn't needed for anything before. And I had only made a single material- steel. And it still hadn't come out right.

Momo blushed and stammered at the praise I'd given. "T-thank you. But for you to analyze and replicate my quirk so quickly… I think you're really amazing too."

I blushed again. It seemed we were doing a whole lot of blushing. God, why were hormones so damned difficult? She was just being polite Midoriya, get your head back in the game before Bakugou blows it off. "Well… It didn't come out exactly how I wanted. Maybe… maybe we should work together, as you say."

Momo smiled. "Okay then. Here's what we're going to do."

* * *

I hammered in the last of the nails into the door. The room was now boarded up good and proper, even a linebacker wouldn't get through. But an explosion would.

That was okay though, we were counting on that. The shrapnel from the blast would cover some of the traps we had laid down on the third floor room and take Bakugou out without any trouble, and even if it didn't take him out right away fighting in a booby trapped room probably would. I'd been practicing moving around the room without setting off the traps, I knew exactly where every trap was and how to avoid it. I'd helped set most of them up after all, while Momo hunched over in a corner and made dozens of traps, a veritable manufacturing line. From your classic hunting snares to steel mesh nets shot by tiny explosive charges- something of her own design- we had a bit of everything that wasn't terribly destructive. Heroes were supposed to capture villains, not kill them and do so with as little property damage as possible. Momo was proving to be a very keen strategist, if a bit too attached to 'human decency' and 'correct procedure'.

"That's it, the door's boarded up." I said

Momo nodded, sweat dripping from her brow. Creating things was really draining, I could personally attest.

"I can't think of anything else we could do to prepare… I think we're as ready as we'll ever be."

In the background explosions sounded, getting closer.

"Well, I thought maybe I could try and fix this up." I held up the twisted, deformed steel sword.

Momo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you want me to make you a sword?"

"I was hoping to make one myself, actually."

"I could make one better than you could, you know. A lot better."

"Well, I know that. But this class isn't just about winning. It's also about getting better. And I'd like to get some practice in with your quirk."

Momo nodded appreciatively. "Yes, that is a very admirable way of looking at this. I think Mr All Might would agree."

"And, well… I also think it'd be really cool to make my own sword you know?"

Momo laughed, a light pleasant sound. "Well, that's true too. I haven't made all that many swords myself, really. I prefer staffs, that's why I learned bojutsu. But it is really satisfying to make something yourself. It still makes me smile, every time something that was in my head is made real, concrete… You know, it's really interesting, speaking to someone who can use my quirk."

"Well, I'm glad you're so interested by it because I could really use some tips on how to use it. As you can clearly see…" I gestured to the wavy looking sword.

"Well…" Momo began "I'd be glad to help, but I haven't really thought much about how to explain using my quirk to someone else. It came pretty naturally to me at first, and I guess that after using it so often it all became second nature to me. You actually gave a better description of it than I could."

"Pretend I didn't and that I don't know anything about your quirk at all. How would you explain it?"

"I suppose I'd say… My quirk is called Creation, and it allows me to create inorganic material with the lipids in my body."

Inorganic… So no plant matter, no animals. Whether that was a purely psychological or an actual limitation was up for debate, I thought. There wasn't really that great a difference, structurally, between organic and inorganic matter, excepting that organic matter was often more complex and liquid-based. "How do you think about a material? You have to picture it right?"

"Yes, that's right. I do. I simply picture the structure in as much detail as possible, layer by layer and at the same time I focus on producing it from a particular part of my body. The size of the object is limited by the area of the skin, I can't make anything wider than my skin is. That's why my costume has to be like this." She gestured to the skimpy bits of latex just barely covering her decency.

"Uhm… yes… It's rather… small?"

"I suppose. I actually wanted it smaller, to have more skin exposed, but new regulations limit what heroes are allowed to wear. It was convened on and put into place after Midnight's hero debut, I believe."

Yes. The dominatrix pro-hero had made a rather memorable hero debut. It was a video I was more familiar with than was appropriate.

"Anyway, I think what you said was helpful. I was trying to picture the entire thing in one go and then making it. I'll try focusing on making it piece by piece. Let me just stop copying your quirk for a bit."

"Why? I thought you wanted to use it for that sword."

"Yes, but I've wanted to test out a theory regarding my quirk for a while. When Inasa and I were in the obstacle course race I copied his quirk for a bit. During the race he got so far ahead of me that his quirk was out of range, but when I managed to catch up again and copy his quirk it seemed to just respond better to me. I was wondering if I could do the same thing to other people's quirks."

I dropped the Creation quirk and the sword in my hands melted, dripping onto the floor then evaporating into nothingness. Momo jumped back. "What was that? How did that happen?"

"Well, my quirk can't copy a quirk perfectly, not off the bat. Repeated exposure and practice makes my copied one more powerful and more akin to the real one but it takes a long time. I guess that with your quirk it means that once I stop copying it any objects I made during that time disappears. I'd guess that the durability wouldn't be the same as yours either."

Momo frowned. "That's not how it's supposed to work. My quirk _converts_ lipids into other materials. It doesn't require a constant application of my quirk to maintain itself, once it's made it's made. That doesn't make sense."

"Welcome to my life. My quirk doesn't make much sense." I pulled another sword from my abdomen. This one was nearly straight as a bow but there were vertical segmented lines across the steel, testaments to how I'd mentally pictured each segment of the blade before making the next. They were pretty much just superficial though, a careful run along it's length and a few practice swipes determined that the sword was definitely workable. And damn cool.

"Wow. So much improvement so quickly?" said Momo

"Yeah. I don't think the quirk itself got noticeably stronger though, it was just as hard for me to create but with the tips you gave me it ended up coming out a lot better. Thanks."

"It was a pleasure." Momo said politely.

The explosions in the background had veered around the floor for a while as Bakugou searched for us but now it was starting to get closer again. He had already searched the rest of the floor.

"I think we should get ready." I said

Momo nodded, then climbed into the roof duct, peering out from an air vent. She would try blindsiding Bakugou if an opening presented itself or if I was having too much trouble.

I took a deep breath, winding the sword around in a circle.

The door exploded into a shower of splinters. "Deku, you damned rat! You were hiding in here all along?!"

"Bakugou." I said simply.

He stopped at the doorway glancing around. "Traps? You think that'll stop me?"

"You've stopped, haven't you?"

"Don't underestimate me, you pathetic copy-cat. Your little tricks can't touch me."

Then he ran straight at me. The traps went off, one after another but none stopped him. The snares were exploded into twine, the nets were dodged with a ridiculous ease. I'd watched my slime villain video more times than I should have and even with the enhanced reflexes I'd had I think I would have had trouble keeping up with Bakugou's minute movements. He was barely the same person I'd fought before.

In the split seconds that he'd charged from the doorway I'd already started to swing my sword forward, he was in my guard before the sword was halfway across. He slapped it aside without even using his quirk, then blasted me with an explosive backhand slap. My sword was knocked from my grasp, skittering across the floor as I was knocked all the way back. As soon as my body made contact with the wall he was on me again, driving a knee into my gut. The air was hit right out of me.

"You thought you were so cool, so amazing, huh?"

He punched me in the face, my neck snapped to the side so fast I got whiplash. His physical strength was ridiculous. "Aren't I?" I taunted. Then I blasted him with an explosion, right in the face.

He caught it in his hand, a counter blast reducing the explosion to nothing. My hand was seared and blackened, it burnt and trembled from the impact. "You think you can use my quirk against me anymore?! Huh?!"

I tried again.

He slapped my arm aside, like a parent swatting a grabby kid. Then he blasted me in the chest. He could alter the chemicals in his quirk slightly, enough to produce either a more flammable or more explosive blast. He'd chosen both. The strengthened military-esque costume was scorched and blasted open simultaneously and rivulets of blood seeped from the blackened mess that was my chest. A measure to dissuade me from trying that again.

I screamed. "Ahh! You fucking asshole!"

"We're not on the same level anymore. And we'll never be again! Your quirk is nothing but a cheap trick, it can't ever compete with the real thing! You hear me?!"

He punched me in the face again. My nose broke.

"No. I'm actually deaf in that ear. You'll have to speak up, sonny."

His eyes widened, then grew vicious. "You always thought you were fucking funny, huh?! But I'm better than you, now!"

He punched me again, harder. This time I could hear my nose crunch. My front teeth felt loose. I could make them move with some pressure from my tongue. "If you say so." I continued to goad him.

Momo came at him then, she had slunk down quietly from the roof vent. There was a horrified expression in her eyes and a sleek, metal staff in her hands. She hadn't been kidding about using them. She had quietly tip-toed behind him while I distracted Bakugou and now she swung the staff at his head with all the force she could muster.

Bakugou's eyes darted back. His hands were on my chest, shoving me into the wall. His mouth was open as he prepared to reply to me, with nowhere to go.

He dodged anyway. A blast came from the floor, from the soles of his feet moving him faster than humanly possible. The staff passed just a few inches over my head. Another blast from his feet and he was behind Momo. He gave her an explosive punch to the side of the head that shot her clear across the room, slumped over and unconscious. Getting blasted with those stuff took some getting used to.

"Momo!" I exclaimed in alarm.

"You see that?" Bakugou asked, entirely unconcerned. "Your supposed number one from your precious recommendation exam was taken out in a second. You still think you're better, Copycat?!"

"I'm not as much of an asshole, that's for sure."

He kicked me in the head. My vision went blurry, my hearing distorted for a bit. He grabbed me, one-handed, by the throat and lifted me off the ground. "Don't you ever try to help me again! I don't need your help, I don't need you! Even with that hax quirk of yours I'm still better! I'm still stronger!"

I remained silent.

With his free hand he slapped me again. My head whipped to the side. "Say it, say I'm better!"

"No." I wouldn't say it.

He slapped me again, then a cruel smirk crossed his face. He pointed his palm toward Momo's still form. "Say it or I'll blast that know it all bimbo! You should care about that right, since you've supposedly turned over a new leaf."

I stayed silent but my heart started beating faster and I began shivering.

"I think you're still the same though, you probably dont care what happens to anyone else at all. But maybe I should just blast her anyway?" He continued, and his fingers twitched.

"Stop." I said. "… You… You're better, all right?"

Bakugou grinned in satisfaction. "Just… Just leave her alone." I added.

"You think I'll listen to you?" Bakugou asked

Then another hand freed me from Bakugou's grip, a much larger hand. I looked at the new arrival. All Might stood there, looking nearly as furious as he had been in that underpass so long back. "Bakugou Katsuki… You are in a lot of trouble, young man."

* * *

**I know it's really damn cheap of me to explain this in a scene note, but please be aware that Bakugou is not capable of actually making blasts from his feet right now, his costume has just been designed to store minute quantities of his explosive in the heel of his boot, allowing him to make extremely rapid short bursts of movement in a pinch. Think of it as a sort of 'flash-step' if you're familiar with the Bleach manga/anime. And some of you may be pissed off with how strong Bakugou is right now. Let me just say this.**

**In this story Bakugou was completely and utterly humiliated by Izuku as far as he can see. Not only is he forced to live with the fact that Izuku had to save him, but Izuku's heroics actually launched him into minor stardom and also painfully highlighted Bakugou's failure. Nearly every day he has to be reminded that he was taken unawares by the slime villain, that his classmates and everyone who watches that video now think of him as some sort of epic failure. That gave him tremendous motivation to work his ass off, which he did. (Which is also why his throwing ability is so much greater than it was in canon). I've already said much more than I needed to here, this much should be clear from the story already but I just wanted to re-iterate more clearly, possibly because I think many people will have a problem with Bakugou being as strong as he is in this story. But despite that this was perhaps my favorite chapter thus far. I feel like in here the story has begun hitting it's stride and becoming more interesting. Hopefully you feel similar and share your feedback by reviewing. Or adding this story to your list of favorites. Or clicking that little button that let's you know when the next chapter will be up- two weeks from now.**

**And if you do, know that I really appreciate it. It gives me a warm, gooey feeling that keeps me writing even when I feel like everything I write is completely stupid and it's pointless for me to try- and that nobody actually, genuinely likes what I write. Until next time, keep safe and I hope you have a lovely week.  
**

_**When you have the time please consider leaving a review of this story- or any other story you've enjoyed on this site. Your positive reviews and critical feedback is what writers like me use to keep writing, to face the metaphorical dragon of the empty screen. **_

_**Thank you :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

Recovery girl had been amazing. I was already rather used to the aftermath of a fight with Bakugou and I'd always somehow managed to heal up pretty fast after. I'd never been quite this injured before though. Nowhere near as injured in fact. But with a single- very embarrassing to receive- smooch all my injuries had been healed. Afterwards I'd been hungrier than I'd ever been and more tired than after Aizawa's second physical exam. Recovery Girl had given me a few high-calorie food bars -some students required a massive daily food intake and often struggled to eat it all in a day so the grandmotherly Recovery Girl kept a stock of these special food bars at hand. I ate five of them, enough calories to feed an average adult for two days, and still felt hungry after.

She'd kept me in the infirmary for the rest of the day, cursing All Might all the while and muttering stories of his 'recklessness' under her breath. I didn't blame All Might though. No. If anyone was to blame it was Bakugou. He hadn't needed to involve Momo or hurt her so badly. That blast he'd given her was enough to give her a concussion. She'd been carried with me to the infirmary and had been healed up no problem but still slept soundly. The after school meet up she'd wanted was delayed, of course.

I felt guilt. Guilty that I hadn't been able to do more against Bakugou, guilty that I hadn't been able to protect her. And it was all because I'd been lazy, because I hadn't trained at all. In just those months Bakugou had become monstrously strong, meanwhile I hadn't gotten any better at all. I was still the same as I'd been when I fought the slime villain, I still relied almost entirely on the quirks around me. Even without his quirk Bakugou could have beaten me, I was sure.

I felt angry too. I wanted to get back at that bastard, to punch his face in like he'd done mine, to humiliate him like he'd done to me. The entire exchange had been screening in the control room, the entire class had watched me, the supposed 'future number one' completely manhandled. I'd literally been bitch slapped.

My fists were clenched so tightly that my fingers got numb.

"You're free to leave now, young man. You watch out for that Bakugou character now, that boy is so violent. How he was ever passed into UA… And how that brat All Might could let something like that go on in the first place! But I'm sure you're tired of my complaining by now."

I smiled wanly. "I don't think you're annoying at all. I think you're amazing."

Recovery Girl pretended to fan herself. "I thought you looked like a charmer. Now I'm much too old for you, lad."

I coughed and stammered. "N-no, I d-didn't mean it like that! Your quirk, I meant your quirk is amazing!"

Recovery Girl laughed. "You shouldn't be so serious, sonny. Now scram! School's been over for nearly a half hour already."

"Yes recovery girl, ma'am. Thank you for your help." I said smiling.

When the door to the infirmary closed my smile dropped. I didn't feel much like smiling right now. I walked listlessly to the school exit, rage running through my veins.

"Hey Izuku, you're out already?"

I blinked. Inasa was waiting for me at the exit, dressed in a tracksuit and with a big grin on his face. If he had a tail it would have been wagging.

"Inasa? What are you still doing here? I thought class ended already."

"I waited for you, of course. You said you wanted to get your physical training in order, right?"

I'd texted him the night before after realising that Aizawa was deadly serious about his expulsion threat, explaining that I needed to start training but not quite giving him the reason. I thought he sniffed it out though, if not knowing just how important it was that I did.

"… I don't feel like doing anything like that right now. I just want to go home."

Inasa slapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, I don't think anybody feels like doing it at first. But once you get the training bug you'll start loving it!"

I jerked his hand off and stepped by him, planning to make my way to the train station. "I said I don't feel like it, Inasa. I'm going home."

He grabbed me. "No way. Look, you lost a test. But it was just a test, alright? How do you expect to get any better if you don't start training more?"

I sighed. "What's the point. You saw how it went today. The whole class saw. I'm not going to be able to become that good, so why even try?"

Inasa let go of my shoulder and I continued walking away. Then I was lifted off the ground and hoisted over a wide shoulder, a firm grasp keeping me in place. I felt like a sack of potatoes.

"No way, I'm not going to accept that from you. You can't say that if you haven't even tried. You have no idea what you can or can't do."

"What are you doing Inasa?" I refused to kick or squeal. This situation was messed up enough already without my throwing a tantrum. I would negotiate, like an adult. Not kick like a toddler.

"We're going to the gym. Best friends don't let their best friend quit."

I frowned. "And who said we're best friends? We've only known each other since the recommendations exam and we've only texted for the most part."

Inasa beamed at me over his shoulder and thrust a thumb at his chest. "Inasa Yoroashi said."

He stared at me a bit more, grin never wavering and I started laughing. Then he started laughing. "I'm not going to be going home am I?"

"Not until you get a training session in, you're not." Inasa agreed

"Oh well. If my best friend says so then I guess that's that. Let me down already, I'll go to the gym."

* * *

UA's school gym was filled with shiny metal contraptions, rubber mats and assorted do-dads and what's-it's whose use I could not conceive. My head was spinning, partly because I'd never been inside a real gym before and had no idea what to do and partly because Inasa had refused to take me off his shoulder until we were in the gym, hauling me through the school grounds and shaking my head around real well. For someone who had decided- without any discussion by the other party- that we were now best friends he sure didn't seem to trust that I wouldn't try running off if he let me down. A girl, probably in her second year, hadn't stopped giggling when Inasa walked me in. My ears were red with shame.

I'd dressed, hastily, in the locker room then met Inasa in the weight area, as ordered. Thankfully I'd had a training outfit packed in preparation or else I was sure Inasa would force me to workout in my school uniform.

He was lying on a flat cushioned bench, pressing a barbell straight up and down. There were two thick metal plates on either side with 45lbs etched on each. He seemed to be having no trouble at all, there was a thin sheen of sweat on his face but the barbell kept coming up and down, up and down with a smooth ease. I was sure that I couldn't lift that at all and gazed at him in wonder. His grin was still in place as he worked, maybe even wider than usual. He really seemed to be enjoying it.

I stepped closer, hearing him mutter "Twenty-two." Before racking the bar.

He looked up at me. "Just getting a warm-up in while I'm here."

My mind boggled. "Y-yeah. Warm up…"

He caught on to my hesitance. "Don't worry about it so much. It seems like a lot, but I've trained for years to do that. You'll be just as good in no time… Except I'm not really all that good with explaining how to do this... I had a coach when I first started out, you see. But not to worry! I'll just try remembering things as best I can and we'll take it from there! With enough passion any routine can work!"

I scratched my head. "Why don't you just let me do the routine you're doing now?"

"Hmm? Oh, well since you're new to this you can't just jump into the workout routine of someone who's been doing it for years, you know? Endurance, strength levels, volume… There's a lot of differences between the workout of a beginner than the workout for someone who's been doing it for years, even though I couldn't tell you all the reasons why. I just know that if you tried my routine without any experience you'd just end up getting hurt."

Ahh. I see.

For the next two hours Inasa took me through the gym and had me training. I was getting an idea of how a lot of the equipment worked and Inasa had pointed out which exercises worked best and showed me how to do them properly. At first I had been really anxious about it, but a few minutes in I had started actually liking the feeling. The warm sensation in the muscles, the sweat that trickled from all over. There was something I found really compelling about it. It also helped that I pictured punching Bakugou in the face, over and over with my new muscles.

On each set of every exercise I did after that I put in my all, pushing until the weight felt crushing and slowly crawled up in stops and starts, sometimes stopping entirely and slowly coming back down despite my pushing. Inasa helped make sure I didn't hurt myself, shouting encouragements and slapping me on the back after nearly every exercise with a "Great job, man." My back was hurting worse than my muscles were, what with all the slaps.

When it was all over I crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath but happy about it at the same time. This hadn't felt like the anguishing exertion I'd felt when I'd run through the obstacle course or even the physical exam even though I had worked even harder now then I did then. I suppose that was because back then the physical exertion had just been a necessary evil, here it was an end in itself and I could actually see exactly, precisely what I needed to do. The weights I'd lifted had been, admittedly, pathetic. When I'd tried bench pressing like Inasa I had been reduced to bench pressing with these tiny, pathetic looking metal plates and still not getting half as many repetitions in as Inasa had with around triple the weight. But now I knew I could get better at it next time I came in, and that made me look forward to coming again.

"I'll get you a protein bar out front. They have it in a vending machine for us lifters. You definitely earned it, and it'll help you feel less worn out."

I was ravenous, so I nodded appreciatively, still gasping.

"Hey there." An unfamiliar voice called when Inasa was out of view. I looked up. It was a blonde guy, a third year probably, with forearms thicker than my thighs.

"H-hi." I said, my breath still not returned to normal.

"I saw some of what you were doing and I was pretty impressed. I mean, not by the weights, those weren't all that great." That was stating the obvious. "But the way you pushed yourself… Really impressive. It's always great to see someone new to the gym working so hard."

"Thank you." I said, grateful for the praise.

"But… Your workout… It was terribly designed."

"Uhm, well… I'm new to all this, like you said, and my friend was just showing me the ropes. He's pretty strong himself but I guess he doesn't know exactly how to plan a routine for someone new to this."

The blonde nodded. "I guessed as much. With the effort you put in you could become really strong, but if you have the wrong routine you could actually do nearly as much harm as good."

My eyes widened.

"So here, take this."

He held out a worn, ratty looking journal. There were stains on the cover, some red. I hesitantly took it. "What is this?"

"That is my old journal, the one I used in my own first year here at UA."

I frowned. "Why are you giving me this? It's filled already, right?"

"To the last page!" The upperclassmen said, a proud smile on his face. "But in there is the routine I used to help get as big and strong as I am now. I think you'll find it very helpful."

He flexed a bicep and his white shirt strained. He looked to be hiding a canonball in his arm.

"Thank you… But why are you helping me?"

"Like I said, I was impressed with your work ethic. Also… There's just something about you that I find interesting. Maybe you remind me of myself."

"What, are you super smart and handsome too?" I joked.

The blonde laughed. "I'd like to think so, but my friends would say differently. I got where I am by working harder than anyone else I know. I think you'll do the same. Though…" he squatted down to stare me straight in the face. I was forced to realize just how big he was. With his blonde hair he looked something like what I imagined All Might must have at the same age. I gulped.

"That book means a lot to me… I can only let you keep it if you promise to take care of it and follow that routine exactly. Otherwise it would just be a waste."

I clutched the book to my chest. If this guy had used the routine to get as big and as strong as he looked now it would definitely help me out. "I promise."

He smiled. "Great! I can't wait to see what you make of yourself, Izuku Midoriya!"

So he knew of me. He left and I opened the journal immediately. In it a loose note had been left. _To the quirk copying hero-in-training. If you are losing strength from workout to workout or you feel completely drained lower the amount of training until you start getting stronger again. There are notes on the routine and stuff like that all throughout the journal. Read it all and you'll be set._

"Where did that book come from?" Inasa asked, handing me a protein bar. I unwrapped it and took a bite. Chocolate flavored.

"One of the upperclassmen, I'm not sure what his name was. He said the routine in here helped him get big and strong."

"You must have impressed him then. But of course you did! I don't think I've seen anyone work so hard their first time at the gym! See, you do have what it takes!"

"I hope so." I said, chewing on the bar. It was chalky and had an odd aftertaste that stuck to my tongue that even the chocolate flavor couldn't do much to fix it. "This doesn't taste great."

Inasa helped me up. "Well, of course it doesn't. It's not meant to taste good, it's meant to be good. But how about we stop for some burgers on the way to the station?"

My stomach quivered in anticipation. "Yeah, that sounds great right about now."

Inasa laughed. "I thought it would."

"Hey, Inasa?" I said as we left the school gym

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

Inasa found me sleeping at my desk. "Izuku? What are you doing here this early?"

I blearily opened my eyes and looked at the class clock. Six-thirty.

"I was excited to try my new training routine so I got to school at around five and trained. I probably got to class fifteen minutes ago, and I'm completely wiped out." I had stumbled all the way from the showers to my class, my legs responding like noodles. There was nobody around for me to copy any helpful quirks either, so I was left to suffer. How I wished that I could just copy recovery girls quirk and make the pain go away. But the upperclassman's training journal had showed that he usually trained early in the morning, before school even started and I'd given my word to follow it all to the letter, even if I hated getting up so early.

"What passion! With that sort of determination you'll be a great hero in no time!" Inasa noted, a tone of amazement in his voice.

I groaned. "Can't I just sleep until Mr Aizawa gets here?" I asked

"No way! I always get to class a little early to get a head start on any work we'll have to do for the day. Now I can have a study partner!"

I sighed, but righted myself. Inasa didn't outwardly seem like the diligent type but if he wanted some help studying I could do that. "Let's get to it then."

Inasa pulled out his books and laid them on the table. "Hey, were the reporters outside already when you got here?" he asked

My brows furrowed. "What reporters?"

"I guess that means you haven't seen them. There are a whole bunch of reporters at the gate hassling students for news about All Might. I guess that since he's taken a teaching position they're worried about whether or not he'll be dropping his patrol hours or even stepping back from active duty entirely for a while."

"Really? You know, I've always thought that a completely free press is a ridiculous notion. They should be severely limited in what they can do. Hassling students on their way to class? They go too far sometimes."

Inasa paused midway through opening his math textbook. "… That sounds pretty villainous, Izuku."

"Shit. Well, I mean, I wouldn't actually do it. And maybe they're not all bad…"

Inasa laughed. "I guess even I'd get tired of them after a while. And I suppose they've been hounding you after that slime villain business."

Wasn't that the truth.

Inasa and I studied together, with Inasa working a lot more than I did. As in, he was actually studying and I was not. I was pretty much just helping him understand things he was having trouble with. I had no trouble with any of the math work we'd have to do for the year, didn't have any trouble with any class in fact. A cursory look through each of my textbooks and some minor studying had gotten me pretty comfortable with the bookish part of our studies.

The class slowly filled in, with Todoroki coming in next. I saw Inasa freeze up a bit and clench his jaw, but he otherwise pretended he hadn't noticed Todoroki at all and Todoroki followed suit. The two _really_ didn't like one another. Five minutes before the bell rang Bakugou entered, looking surly. The school had threatened to suspend him and even tossed around possible transfer to another school but Bakugou's mom had slapped him around a bit and told the principal that Bakugou would be severely grounded. For the next year. Principal Nezu had let up after that and dropped the suspension threat instead slapping Bakugou with community service for the entire year. My mom had been pissed when she got the call from Bakugou's mom, Mitsuki. The two had been friends since before I was born and I had never heard my mom scold Mitsuki until last night.

If I was honest I wish he had gotten worse.

The bell rang and Mr Aizawa strolled in a few minutes after, to a completely silent room. He was drooped over and his eyes were red with fatigue. I didn't know what he did in his down time but he was clearly not getting enough sleep. "Quiet down, quiet down." He said to the silent room.

"Now, today you'll all have to choose a class representative and a vice to help out."

"Really?" Mina and Eijiro said "But that's so normal!"

"This is a school after all." Diligent Iida noted "Some things will always stay the same."

"How are we supposed to choose, teach? We barely know each other." Mina complained.

Aizawa, already creeping into a sleeping bag, waved a hand in dismissal. "That's up to you. Do as you like."

"Ehh? That's so lazy of you." Mina said.

"Whatever. You are all just supposed to vote on who you think fits best…" He stopped wiggling into his sleeping bag momentarily. "Except for Izuku."

"Oh? Why not, sir?" I asked

Aizawa grinned evilly. "Well, Midoriya. You'll have to go down to the support department and request a new hero costume. Since you negligently got your's destroyed." He added as a throw away. It pissed me off, but I knew better. It wasn't because Bakugou had blown apart my costume, this was his way of reminding me that as far as he was concerned I wasn't a real 1A student. I grinned and bared it though. I was going to pass his physical test, no matter what. I was liking this school far too much to let him kick me out.

* * *

The hero support department was the place where students would come to learn how to design support gear, items to help heroes make better use of their quirk or just function better in general. Support gear ran the gamut from the costumes we wore- which were designed with a ridiculous level of precision- to handcuffs for villains of all sizes, little gadgets to help with any and all situations, programs and mobile devices. The support department made any and everything a hero needed. It was a hero candystore.

It was also a workshop.

That meant that it was pretty loud. Hammers pounded, machines ground and whined, welding machines sparked and smoke constantly belted from the pipes during the day. It was why the support department had been shoved as far away from the rest of the classroom buildings as could be without making it too inconvenient for students to get to.

I'd been given a teacher's pass and a signed note from Aizawa to say why I was there and give his permission. He'd apparently had a quick word with Mr Powerloader about it before class, but I still wasn't looking forward to meeting the intimidating little professor again so soon.

I knocked on the door. There was no answer.

I knocked again, louder. Still nothing.

I made to knock again when the door was yanked open and a girl wearing cyperpunk glasses glared at me. "What do you want already? You've interrupted my baby-making!"

I couldn't find any words for this situation. What sort of support department was Powerloader running?!

"Hatsumei, get back to work. What are you doing, greeting a visitor like that anyway?" Powerloader said, appearing in the doorway. He was, thankfully, fully-dressed. Instead of being intimidating he had a long-suffering expression on his face. He looked pitiably frustrated.

Hatsumei, the mad-villain looking girl stuck her tongue out at the pro-hero and got back to her workstation. Oh. That's what she meant by babymaking. She was just making stuff. That was a load off my mind.

"So, you've destroyed your hero gear less than a week into being here. Are you going to make me regret my decision to accept you into UA, Midoriya?"

"No, sir. That wasn't my fault anyway."

Powerloader gave a disbelieving glance. "I hope so, Midoriya. You should probably go ahead and redesign that costume while you're here. That may have been the worst costume to ever pass throught these doors. I'll have one of my students help you out… Hatsumei!" He called for the crazy girl and my heart dropped. He noticed and gave me a once over. "Hatsumei may be a little… a lot, difficult at times but she may be the most talented student I've ever had. She'll sort you out… _If she doesn't accidentally explode you into a million pieces._" He had whispered the last bit but I had caught it and it did little to make me feel better about having her do my costume.

Hatsumei stomped up to Powerloader and stared him straight in the eye. "And what do you want now? You just told me to get back to my station and now you're calling me back again?"

Powerloader sighed. "Yes. Well, this boy right here needs a new uniform. A complete redesign too, if you're up to it."

Her demeanor changed, and in an instant she was staring at me with a big smile of excitement. "Really?" she asked me

I pondered saying no, that I would much rather stroll into combat in the buff than deal with her apparent craziness but that wouldn't go over well, I was sure. "Uhm… Yes, please."

She grabbed my arm and carted me over to her workstation. There were three tables, one workstation with a work in progress and her tools laid out. Another held more blueprints than I had seen in one place before and the last was stacked sky high with assorted devices and completed inventions.

"Wow. Has the support department already made all this since school started?" I asked in wonder, gesturing to the completed devices.

She stopped to look at where I was pointing. "Oh those? No, I made them all myself. They're my precious babies!"

Okay, that was really impressive. Maybe Mr Powerloader had been right about her. "Cool."

"Anyway, what's your student number?" she asked

I said it and she typed it into a desktop. A few clicks of the mouse later and she was staring at my hero costume design with distaste. "_That's_ it? That's terrible! It looks like it was taken out of an army surplus catalogue!"

I scratched my head in embarrassment. "Well, I mean my quirk is really diverse so it's pretty difficult to design something so widely usable."

She glanced back at me, clearly not accepting of my explanation. "Your quirk?…"

I made to answer, but with a few more clicks of her mouse it was up on screen. Hatsumei read through it for a moment, then glanced back at me with sparkles in her eyes.

"Anything? Your quirk can copy anything?"

"Anything I've ever tried. I've grown wings, extra limbs, horns, scales, pretty much everything. It all sort of disintegrates once the quirk is out of range or I stop copying it but I've been able to copy anything I've tried. You see why I didn't put much effort into the design? It's pointless."

"So you thought that a bit of added durability was the best you could do without limiting your options when it came time to work…"

"Pretty much. I mean, a costume is just there to enhance a quirk anyway. And if I designed a costumed that helped me with any one quirk in particular that would just get in the way when I copied something else."

"You're wrong. A costume isn't just about enhancing a quirk. It's about protecting the hero, and more importantly it's about making them recognizable and memorable. It's like a company logo, it's a way of identifying a hero. If you pitch up wearing a costume nearly identical to a soldier's uniform nobody is going to think much of you."

I'd already thought of that but the soldier costume was the best thing I'd been able to come up with. "You think you could do any better?" I asked in a challenging tone.

"Of course!" Hatsumei answered then frowned. "Well, it'll be a bit more difficult than normal. But that's what makes it so exciting!"

Then she tuned me out and started roughly making designs, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she worked. Her breasts were pressed up against the desk and spilled onto the page she worked on. I gulped. With the strange looking glasses and mad-inventor attire I hadn't noticed how shapely her body was.

I looked away, to distract from her even-bigger-than-Momo breasts. Her tall pile of inventions stood proudly and I started going over them one by one. There were robots, there was a suit of armor, a sword with a saw-blade running across and many more crazy designs that were simultaneously interesting and horrifying. An odd looking bracelet made of linked steel balls caught my attention. They seemed to have been placed prominently, or as prominently as could be among an indignant pile of inventions. A little note, covered in glitter, read: _high-density weights_. That was interesting. I tried to lift it, but it was much, much heavier than it looked. Even heaving with all my might I could barely budge it off the table with one arm. I used my other and managed to get it up to chest height before giving it up as a pointless, stupid endeavor and putting it back down with a grunt.

"What are you doing?"

Hatsumei popped up beside me, startling me enough that I nearly backed into her inventions. "Hey, watch it! You'll knock my babies over!"

"S-sorry… I was just…"

"Hmm?" she hummed, nose nearly touching mine. I could see her eyes so clearly from here. They were shaped like a target and a bright shade of yellow. She could actually use her quirk to zoom in and out of focus, it was like she was wearing a pair of high-powered binoculars at all times.

"That must make it a lot easier to make little welds…" I muttered inadvertently. Being so close she heard it easily and smiled in interest.

"Wow, you can actually tell that much with your quirk? That's interesting. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook-what were you doing playing with my babies?"

She looked only half-serious, but with her so close I felt backed into a corner. "Can't you back up a bit? Look, I didn't mean to play with your inventions. I just thought they looked really interesting."

"Really?!" she said, leaning in even closer. I could feel her breath on my cheek.

I shoved her back as gently as I could. "Y-yeah. They're really interesting."

She frowned "Oh? Well, what is your favorite?"

Shit. I barely know what most of these things were. "That." I said, pointing at the high-density weights.

"Those? What do you like about them?" She seemed to be testing me, testing whether or not I really liked her things or I was just pretending.

"They're simple on the surface, sure. But there's actually a lot more going on than is on the surface. With a little bit of adaptation they could be used to hold down criminals or slow them down when captured to prevent the likelihood of escape."

She seemed mildly intrigued, but still stayed silent.

"And, well… I guess I was just thinking of training applications. I started training really recently, see, and I was just thinking of how much space this could free up for gyms. Or what if people wore lighter versions of these all the time? I know martial artists do stuff like that… or well, used to do stuff like that and said that it made them much stronger. And honestly a new, high-density metal likely has other properties that would make it attractive for the manufacturing industry. But it's all a bit over my head really. That's why I'm in the hero course and the smart people like you are in the support course!" I tried laughing, hoping it would get her off my back.

Hatsumei looked at me, nodded then said. "I like you. You're interesting."

I choked on air. Then I felt hands running across my chest, squeezing my shoulders and- oh god, was I right about her- was she really into real baby-making?!

"You're really skinny you know… You're like as thin as a beanstalk. You must not have been training all that long. Or you have no idea what you're doing."

I was very offended, even though she was one hundred percent right.

She nodded again. "Alright, I decided. I'm going to help you become super-strong and fit before this year is over!"

"And why would you want to do something like that?" I asked, suspicion growing.

"Oh, that's easy. I just decided, I'm going to start my own company."

Huh? That came out of left field- how do you get from helping someone get stronger to starting a company?

"I can just picture it now— Hatsume Physical Industries, the company that takes regular, skinny and completely out of shape people and turns them into skilled heroes in months… Governments the world over would clamor for my abilities, have spies trying to find my secrets. But they would never get them, because I'll build a gigantic security bot to protect company secrets!" She said to herself, ignoring me entirely.

It was certain. Hatsumei Mei was completely batshit insane.

* * *

I was already settling into a routine for lunch time. I'd hurry to the cafeteria with Inasa and get there before the horde arrived. I'd dish myself a good sized meal, ravenous from my early morning training, and take a seat near the windows about center of the cafeteria. Central enough that I could easily encompass all the students in my quirk field but sort of tucked away so that no-one got too curious about what I was doing with my notebook. I'd scoop food into my face with one hand and write with the other. That would usually start with food flying all over the table until the kid with the perfect body control get there, then I wouldn't spill a grain. Inasa would look over my shoulder, comment on something and occasionally break into loud compliment or observations. I'd try to get three or four pages filled, muttering under my breath. Okay, maybe it was too early to call it a routine. This was pretty much the second time I'd done it ever. But it was already starting to feel smooth and effortless.

"So Iida and Momo were made class presidents. I'm so excited for them! They both seem perfect for the job, right?!" Inasa chatted while I worked.

"Hmm-hmm." I said noncommittally.

"I mean, Iida can be a little too strict when it comes to the rules, but I guess that's exactly the sort of person you want keeping an eye on the class, right?!"

"Yep."

"And Momo seems like the responsible older sister type, you know? I know we'll be in good hands with them as our class presidents."

"Right."

Inasa tapped me on the shoulder. I looked over to see him frowning. "Hey, are you even lis-"

An alarm started blaring, red lights lit up on the walls bathing the cafeteria a light red. People started screaming. "Fire! Fire!" someone shouted. Students threw their lunches down and bolted, all at once. It was pandemonium.

Inasa had already leapt to his feet and was tugging frantically at my sleeve, urging me to get up. My head whirled and I got up, then sat back down. There, there on the edge of my quirk field… I could feel something. Somethings. I forced, urged my quirk field to stretch. My head throbbed and pulsed with the effort but the field obeyed my urging for once and spread about fifty or so feet wider, not a massive increase but enough so that I could figure out what was going on.

I seamlessly copied Hatsumei's quirk, having high-powered eyes would come in handy right about now. Journalists. Journalists had somehow gotten into UA and were trying to rush the school proper. They'd set off proximity alarms probably, but their attempts were already being stopped by several teachers. I recognized Carmelia, the journalist who had first tried getting my statement after I defeated the slime villain. I also recognized Powerloader and Cementoss.

Anyway. All this meant that this… panic was for nothing. There was no fire, and if there were a dozen of the students who could handily dispatch it with their water-based quirks.

But people could still get hurt. Inasa was now pulling me to my feet and I could see the students, shoving and elbowing. Some of the smaller kids were knocked down. Someone could get trampled, someone could get killed. "It's a false alarm." I told Inasa.

He blinked, uncomprehending. "What? We need to go!"

"It's a false alarm, Inasa! There isn't a real emergency! Those journalists found a way to get onto the school grounds, they're already being stopped by the teachers!"

I pointed at the window. There, probably little more than vague shapes on the horizon to Inasa, were the journalists and teachers.

Inasa's eyes widened. "What do we do, then? Everyone's panicking! Do we run out with them?"

"We stop them obviously!"

It had been mere moments since the alarm started blaring, a few students had made it to the exits but they were now so crowded that people were all but fighting to pass through. Almost nobody was making it through in the panic and even more students had been knocked down. I could already see one of them being stepped on, groaning in pain.

Shit. I needed to stop this. I needed to get their attention.

I mentally grabbed at Momo's quirk, then in my minds eye I pictured in as much, in as minute detail as I could a loudspeaker. I ripped my shirt open and tugged it out, batteries already in. I flicked the switch up. The led came on. It was working. With Inasa's quirk I leapt over the tables, scattering cafeteria dishes and stepping into mac and cheese at one point. Within a few bounds I was at the exit, my feet melding into the wall.

I held the loudspeaker to my mouth. "Stop! Everybody stop right where you are! There is no emergency! There is no emergency! It's a false alarm! Journalists have gotten onto the grounds, but the teachers have already stopped them! The situation is under control, there is nothing to fear!"

The students closest to the exit got the message first and stopped short. I repeated the message a few more times and slowly the screams died down. Students looked around ashamedly. Some of the older students seemed to be dreadfully embarrassed. Relieved laughter abounded and people started pointing out the journalists through the window.

Inasa came up to me. "That was amazing, Izuku! You were so… Passionate!"

I gave him a wan grin, blood trickling from my nose. "You still think I was being too harsh on those journalists now?"

* * *

**It seems as though I'm using these endnotes to provide clarification on what's happening in the chapter so I'll just stick with that. I know that in canon Izuku is initially chosen as class representative, in here Iida has shown more class rep characteristics than Izuku has. With Izuku's more reticent, snarky nature in this story he isn't initially as popular a pick. The students in 1a sort of see him as the detached famous kid with a badass quirk, they have yet to get to know him more intimately and despite Izuku's effort he still hasn't overcome his own personality just yet- it takes more than a few months to completely reinvent yourself.**

**I have also taken some liberties with the support department scene. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but this is to some degree an AU and I will take full advantage of that excuse to play around with the story. Also I am but a human being, with my own job and personal responsibilities and if I spent all my time researching canon I'd never get anything written. Also rehashing canon with very minor changes doesn't seem very interesting to me. I'd rather change a few things around, for my own personal interest in the story if nothing else. It's better for me to have some degree of play in the story and thus remain interested than to give it up as a boring exercise in frustration. All of the reviews and support has been tremendous in helping me stay interested too, so thanks again for your feedback. I say that every chapter but it still remains important so I'll probably say it again and again, ad infinitum. If there's anything in this chapter that you liked let me know and if there's anything that annoyed you let me know as well. I respond to every review I get, even if it takes me a while to get to with how busy my life seems right now and I've had a lot of pleasant conversation as a result and I can better explain and respond to questions as a result.**

**Also, in the final scene Izuku is the one who calms the students down during the lunchtime panic instead of Iida. Note that in here, thanks to his quirk field, Izuku was able to notice the journalists before Iida would have. Iida was also seated at a different table than in canon (seeing as how he and Izuku aren't good friends as in canon) and so didn't have as good a view as he did in the alternate (official) universe. Izuku melding his feet into the wall was due to another quirk he picked up. I know it must be tedious for you to have to read every single quirk Izuku picks up so I want to start being less anal about writing every single quirk he copies and instead leaving it more up to you to notice, unless your not noticing could negatively affect your experience reading. It's a balancing act, but I'll do my best.**

**When you have the time please consider leaving a review of this story- or any other story you've enjoyed on this site. Your positive reviews and critical feedback is what writers like me use to keep writing, to face the metaphorical dragon of the empty screen :)**

Thank you :)


	8. Chapter 8

I dragged myself into class 1A, more than ready for the day to end. The incident at lunch had left me feeling really drained and the odd comments and gesturing when I passed through the halls from class to class had me reliving the last few months at Aldera Junior High. It was distasteful, to say the least.

So I barely registered when it was that Iida had put his hand up. "Mr Aizawa, I have a request."

"What is it, Tenya?" answered Aizawa, in that languid, lazy drawl I'd come to associate him with.

Iida straightened up. "Sir, some of our other classmates and I discussed, and we decided that it would be better if Izuku was made the class representative instead of me."

I'd been half-dozing in my seat, now I shot up like a bucket of iced water had been poured down my shirt. "Hey, wait now…" I said, and was completely ignored.

"The situation in the cafeteria showed us that he has what it takes to be the class president. Even in a difficult situation, while I was fleeing, he stayed perfectly calm and dissected the situation and in just a few minutes he had calmed the entire student body out of a major panic. He is much more deserving of the position then I am." Iida added as justification.

"If you all want to take a re vote you're free to do so. Just remember that if you still get the most votes you'll have to stay in your position, even if you don't think you're suited for it." Aizawa said dismissively. I noticed a sharp glint in his eye and a light smirk nearly hidden behind his scarf when his gaze passed over me.

This was not good. I was busy enough with all my added training, there was no way I'd be able to handle the duties of a class representative! And to be honest, I didn't want to either. I didn't have the affable, friendly disposition of a class president. "Stop, I don't want to be class president! I'm fine with being just a regular student, I already have enough to deal with!"

"I think you automatically forfeited being a regular student the moment you became a student here..." Kirishima said from beside me.

I shot him a glare then returned my attention to our class teacher. "Mr Aizawa, you can't let them do this. You don't like me, remember? I'd make a terrible student president."

Aizawa waved a hand flippantly, looking completely unaffected by anything that was happening."I can't be bothered to do anything about it. It's a completely democratic vote. And don't worry, if by some reason or another you don't make it to your next semester Iida can retake the position."

Kirishima leaned over and whispered conspiratorially "Dude… I don't know what you did to Aizawa but I think he just threatened to murder you."

I looked to Inasa, hoping for some support. "You didn't know they were planning to do this, did you?"

Inasa smiled. "Of course I did! I was one of the people who suggested it!"

I groaned. A betrayal. This was Julius Caesar and Brutus all over again, I'd been stabbed in the back. "Come on Inasa, I'd make a terrible class president. I can't look after everybody."

"I don't know… You were pretty great earlier. Everyone was panicked out of their mind and you managed to figure out what was going on and quickly settle everyone back down before anything terrible happened. Besides, I think this will be good for you! You'll get better at dealing with people, right?!"

Ahh… So this was all because I had stopped everyone from running around like headless chickens during lunch period. And this was the reward for my altruism?

The class voted, and against any of my hopes Iida was not sworn in again. This whole thing had been planned out pretty well, it seemed. Instead I had been made class representative and Momo had been made vice. I was forced, by a glaring Aizawa, to redundantly introduce myself to the class beside Momo as the new class representatives.

The bell ringing didn't come soon enough as far as I was concerned. I took off without a word to anyone, Inasa following.

"Hey, you aren't upset are you?" he asked.

I didn't answer, frowning. I hadn't wanted to speak to him after being blindsided into the class president position. I knew he thought he was just looking out for me but I definitely didn't want the job.

"Come on, stop being so grumpy. You've already been made the class president so it's no use being upset about it. No use crying over spilled milk, my dad says."

"So all my free time is just some spilled milk?" I asked bitterly

Inasa laughed. "Well, you wanted to become a good hero. I think you could consider this more training, right?"

As we exited the gate I found another terrible surprise waiting for me. Hatsumei Mei, the crazy, comely inventor was waiting for me, scribbling notes and schematics into an ink-stained book with a wild gleam. My newfound passion for quirk analysis took a hit right then. I didn't look like that when I was doing quirk analysis, did I?

She zeroed in on me as soon as I passed through where the gate had been this morning, one of the journalists had ostensibly disintegrated most of it to get into the grounds. It would be replaced by morning, I was sure.

"Izuku!" Mei called, maniacal gleam in her eye.

"Hey…" I said weakly, instead of telling her to get lost like I wanted. You don't piss off the person designing the costume you'll wear out into combat, for obvious reasons. You wouldn't want a chest-plate falling off at the wrong time or subtle phallic imagery designed into your costume for your buddies to laugh at.

She walked over and shoved a wrapped parcel into my arms. I was bent over by the weight, arms shaking.

"What are-"

"Your high-density weights. You're way too skinny right now to handle the full things, so I just made some at quarter weight."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what am I supposed to be using these for anyway?"

"Have you forgotten already? You came up with the idea, remember? You'll have to wear those weights at all times until you get used to them. Then I'll give you heavier versions until you can wear the super high-density weights I just designed. They're nearly four times as heavy as the original high-density weights, you know." Mei said.

I shook my head. Had this girl gotten her physical training knowledge from manga? "I don't think it works that way. I've already started weight training and I don't think my muscles could handle any more…"

"That's why we'll be doubling…" she gave me another once over "No, tripling your food intake. Here's a grocery list to start with. You'll need to buy all of that today and follow the meal plan I'll be sending you over text. Hey, what's your number anyway?" She shoved a paper in my hand then opened up her notebook and looked at me expectantly, waiting for my number.

This was all just a bit much for me. Things like this didn't happen in real life! So I did what any sane person would."I'm not giving you my number…"

"Here you go! Thank you so much for helping Izuku. He can come across as difficult sometimes but he's actually a really good guy and a good friend too." Inasa bowed over at the waist and handed the girl a torn off slip of paper with what I saw was my phone number written on.

"Inasa! What are you doing! She's insane!" I hissed into his ear.

Inasa looked at me, disappointment on his features. "Izuku, I thought you were working on your temper? You need to calm down and be more grateful. She's helping you out for free, after all."

I sighed. "Thank you, Mei."

She ignored my thanks. "Oh, by the way you guys will be heading to the USJ centre tomorrow, so you may want to start thinking about how you want to handle that."

"How do you know anyway?" I asked. USJ, the Universal Simulation Joint was one of the iconic UA training areas that had become all but common knowledge. A place where every possible disaster was simulated and trained for, it was the sort of anal, over the top training style that UA prided itself on mastering.

Mei bobbed her head. "Oh, that's easy. Mr Powerloader called me to the teachers lounge after class to complain about my behavior again, and I overheard Mr Aizawa and some of the other teachers making arrangements."

Again? Hadn't she been sufficiently terrified at being scolded by the man a single time?

"Anyway, I have lots of baby-making to prepare for! I'll be off, then. I'll call you later to go over what your routine will be like, Izuku. Bye!" Mei said, then scarpered off.

I gave Inasa a sideways stare. "… You've really made things difficult for me today, Inasa. Class president and now I have to deal with Mei treating me as some sort of test subject slash invention so that she can start some sort of paramilitary training program… Any chance I can return that best friend license?"

"Nope. You're stuck with me." Inasa said, grinning, then he paused. "Hey, what did she mean by baby-making exactly?"

I sighed.

* * *

I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. It had been less than twenty-four hours since I even knew that Hatsumei Mei existed and I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She had called me thrice- thrice! To go over every part of my training routine, what I ate, how often I slept, and a dozen other things that I couldn't fathom as being connected to my physical health. She'd asked about my masturbation habits for god's sake! When I had turned my phone off, taken out the battery and thrown the accursed ringing thing into a drawer for good measure she had combed through the phone book until she'd found my home phone. Then she'd spoken to my mom for a good five minutes, explaining exactly who she was and how she had decided to grace me with her superior intellect so that I could get in shape in record time- which also forced my mom to give me the birds and bees lecture for a second time after she'd misunderstood Mei's frequent chants of baby-making.

Trying to explain to her that no, baby-making didn't mean actually making real live babies but instead cold metal devices, suits of armor and wristbands that weighted fifty pounds had not gone over well.

Not only that but my mom had supported Mei's efforts in trying to get me to undergo some sort of batshit insane health routine. She'd fished through my wastepaper basket to find the crumpled up grocery list Mei had given and popped off to the grocer a few minutes later. I think it made Mom happy to think that she was helping me in some way. But that meant that there would be no way I was getting away from this. Just like the class presidency I was sat with I had been given no real say in the matter.

I wasn't wearing those damn glorified bracelets though.

At Lunch she'd waited at my perfectly positioned cafeteria table and taken my food away, because it wasn't what she'd programmed in. I was starving, damn her! My appetite had gone through the roof in the past few days, the intense weightlifting and exercise had me feeling hungry all the time.

"… Could you spare a bit of food, Inasa?" I asked, salivating at Inasa's plate loaded with rice and fish.

"I'd love to share with you, Izuku… But Mei said that she'd already planned your meals. It wouldn't be right for me to throw her work out the window."

"You're a monster."

He laughed. "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, have you planned anything for our trip to USJ?"

I scoffed. "Why would I plan for something that's probably not going to happen?"

"You know, I think you're really underestimating Hatsumei. She's really, really smart. You don't think she could have gotten that info?"

"I never said she wasn't smart, she is really, really smart. That doesn't mean she's not also nuts."

"I don't know. I mean, I thought you'd be a little more appreciative of someone trying to help you out."

I sighed. We'd had this argument multiple times already. "You don't think it's a little weird for someone I just met yesterday to take over my life, my training, my damn diet? It's like I can't trust it. Who would just decide to do something like that out of nowhere?"

Inasa hummed. "I think she's just really passionate! She lives life fully, with no hesitation!"

I laughed, pulling out my notebook. "She's really forward, you mean."

"I wouldn't say it like that…" Inasa complained, shifting to look at my notes.

Huh. There was someone with a consumption based quirk. He could actually change his physical structure based on what he ate, taking the phrase you are what you eat to new, insane levels. I could picture it now, transforming into a centaur by eating horse meat. Or a werewolf by eating wolf meat. Yeah, the process wasn't exactly ideal but the end result would be fantastic. I wondered if he- it was a he, I'd watched a memory snippet of the quirk in action- could combine foods to create crazy chimaera-esque combos or if the changes were limited to animal flesh. Could he turn into a tree man by nibbling on a twig? And there were other questions too. Did he have to fully digest things before he could perform his transformation? Did he digest things faster than regular people? Was there a minimum dose required for a transformation? Could he turn into a dino-man by ingesting a tiny bit of dinosaur DNA?

It was fascinating. And it reminded me a lot of my own quirk, in some ways. How was it that I could copy a quirk by mere presence? What was it I was copying from? Could I somehow inherently sense their special DNA and mimic it without being presented with a physical copy? But what did that mean? Was that why my copies tended to be less precise initially and more precise with repeated copies? How was my body capable of doi-

"Good morning Izuku. I'm sorry, but could I speak to you for a moment?"

I turned from my notebook, possibly on the cusp of some greater understanding of my quirk, to see a nervous looking Momo. She held her hands together like a nervous little girl would and stood with head slightly bowed. Looking at her, nobody would be able to tell that she had been the number one pick for entry into UA in our year.

"Sure."

Inasa politely made some excuse about having to get something from LunchRush and left with tray in hand, and glorious food still piled high.

"Well, it's not really all that private but I wanted to discuss our duties as class presidents."

Oh, that. "… May as well get it over with." I said, gesturing for her to take a seat.

She held out her hands in apology. "No, not right now. It would take a lot more time to go over than just a single lunch period. Would you like to come over to my home this afternoon?"

I blinked. "Um… Ok? Why not, right?"

Momo clapped her hands delightedly. "That's great! I'll have one of the chauffeurs bring around a limo to your residence. How does five pm sound? Would that suit you?"

My mind whirled. Had she just said 'one of' her chauffeurs? Just how rich was this girl anyway? "Um… sure. But don't you need my address?"

She waved a hand. "Oh, don't worry about that. They'll find you, no problem."

"See you then?" I half asked.

Momo bowed and left. Hatsumei was making her way back, glaring at Momo as she did with a cafeteria tray piled so high that it looked like a little mountain of food was balanced precariously on top. When she put it down I started shoveling rice down my throat like a man that had been starved for days.

"Who was that?" Hatsumei asked

I paused between bites, chugging some of my chocolate milk. "Oh, that was one of my classmates. Momo Yoayorozu."

Hatsumei tapped on the table. "Well, what did she want then?"

"Hmm? Oh, we're class presidents. She invited me over to her place later to discuss our class president duties."

"I don't want you spending any time with her." Hatsumei announced

"Huh? Why not?" I asked, more concerned with the reasoning than letting her know I was a grown damn person who could make his own decisions, thank you very much.

"Because," she began "You're my precious baby."

I had been eating the rice she had brought for me and spat it out, all across the table. "I won't allow any deviation to the plan. As my first biological subject in the project 'superfast superhuman' I can't allow for any variables thrown into the mix. Who's to say what sort of effect going out and having unstipulated fun will have on my results? No, I definitely can't allow that."

I gaped "So, I'm supposed to become some sort of prisoner?"

She beamed "That's a great idea! If I have you locked up in some sort of cell or observation room when you're not training I'll have the perfect results and be able to account for all variables."

This girl was insane. She must have been joking, right? Nobody would really do that to a fellow student, would they?

"Here, eat this up. I calculated exactly how many calories would be optimal for maximum benefit. If you don't eat it all up the results will be off." She held a spoonful of my spat out rice and prodded at my mouth. I just stared at her in disbelief.

* * *

The bus to USJ rocked along, shaking slightly as we traveled over the bumpy gravel road that lead to the training area. Inasa looked at me smugly. I'd been avoiding his gaze since Aizawa had announced the trip but now, confined in this bus there was no more avoiding what I knew would be coming.

"You can't say Mei isn't reliable now. She was right about us coming here, wasn't she?" Inasa said.

Of course. The I told you so speech. "One lucky break does not a reliable person make. Look, I appreciate that she's trying to help me even though I never asked her to but she's just a bit much, you know? I still want her help, and I'm very thankful that she's giving it, it's just that I have no idea how to deal with her."

"Ne, ne, Izuku. You don't deal with girls. They aren't villains or targets you need to take down." A voice came from above me. I looked up to see Mina Ashido grinning down at me, leaning over the seat. I pretended not to have been surprised by her appearance.

"Oh, sorry. Were we talking too loud? I'll try to keep it down."

Mina shook her head. "No, you weren't. I just listened in on your conversation."

I stared. "Did you honestly just admit to eavesdropping?"

She raised an index finger. "I prefer to think of it as intel gathering. That's something heroes do, right?" She smiled and I knew she didn't think any such thing. "Anyway, Kirishima was listening too."

Kirishima popped up beside her. "Hey, why'd you have to give me away?"

"Meh. You'd have gotten caught eventually anyway." Mina said. Then she hopped up and moved expectantly to our side. "Anyway, scoot over. It's easier for me to speak if I'm sitting beside you."

These UA girls were so forward. "And why do you think you were invited into the conversation?" I said, but still scooted over. Inasa and I were squished uncomfortably close together.

"Oh, I'm just here to give you good advice. It would be very easy for you to get the wrong advice when it comes to love."

Was she quoting something? I wasn't exactly all that clued up on pop culture. "I don't love Hatsumei. She's annoying."

Pinkgirl wagged her finger. "No, no. That's no way to express your true feelings. You need to say how you really feel, deep down. That frustration you feel is because you're not being true to yourself."

I glared. "What kind of magazines have you been reading?"

She pretended to swoon. "Oh, now that's a very personal question, Izuku. Maybe you like me and not this Hatsumei person?"

"I don't think you've listened to a word I've said since I got into this bus. I don't like any of you!"

"Hey, that's hurtful. I thought we were friends." Inasa held a hand over his heart, grinning.

I held my head in my hands. Things hadn't been this difficult before.

"I was just kidding, class rep. Besides you're not really my type either. You're too much of a pretty boy." Mina stuck out her tongue at me.

"I'm not a pretty boy." I defended

Kirishima, having taken Mina's position of leaning over the seat spoke up. "Dude, even I can say with confidence that you're a pretty boy. You have the long shiny hair, the soft features, the thin frame."

"You are nearly as fabulous as moi!" Aoyama shouted from the back of the bus, cluing me into the fact that most of my classmates were probably listening in.

"Even if your hair color is pretty plain looking." Mina added.

"Having natural green highlights would have been considered impossible a few decades ago…" I muttered, sort of offended.

Mina beamed, twirling her pink locks. "But now it's really boring!"

The bus came to a stop and Aizawa gestured for us to get off. Momo was taking her position seriously, making sure everybody lined up neatly as we walked into USJ.

Aizawa stood with a man dressed in what looked like a kids replica of a space suit.

"This… Is USJ." Azawa said, in a tone meant to be awe inspiring. And it probably was awe inspiring too, to the other kids. To me it just sounded like the sort of well rehearsed line a tour guide would use when showing off the same things for the thousandth time. There was a whiff of boredom in the tone.

But the place was certainly awe inspiring on it's own. You could read about it online, maybe even see the camera phone pics that had been nervously snapped but unless you stood there you wouldn't understand the sheer unbelievability of the place.

Every single disaster, natural or manmade, that you could think of was there, held in a permanent state of disaster. Avalanches, earthquakes, burning buildings, tsunami's, tornadoes, bomb sites, sandstorms and many others and they were all held in a single building right beside one another. It was like a zoo for disaster, a museum of misery and awe.

"As a hero, there will come situations that are unforeseen. Things nobody expected to have happen. Caught unawares, terrible costs can be incurred. People may die, cities may be brought to their knees. A lack of preparation is even more disastrous than the event itself. But how do we prepare for the unexpected and the unforeseen?" Thirteen, the space suit wearing hero said in a raspy high-pitched tone that didn't sound human at all.

Aizawa stepped in to continue, reinforcing the idea that this was a practiced speech. "The Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Here we train for every possible scenario, every possible disaster. Here you will learn to be prepared for anything at any time, to maintain your composure in high fire situations and come out on top."

Beside me Inasa was smiling so wide I thought he would pull his lips apart. Even I was feeling excited now. Maybe this speech wasn't so terrible after all.

Thirteen continued. "What we'll ha-"

Then I sensed it. A dark, powerful quirk surrounded by more than twenty other quirks. I knew instantly that this was not part of the lesson. "Move! Ther-" I said

A black vortex, a shimmery black rip in the air that looked like the darkest black spinning smoke appeared right behind thirteen. Then a hand shot out and burst through thirteen's suit. Blood fell to the floor and the hand, a grey, lifeless looking thing, stretched out to to reveal the arm and then body of a young man. A young man who had a goddamned dismembered hand covering his mouth and body. I had never seen a quirk so disturbingly off putting before.

"No time to waste. This is a very promising young class, I've been told. Let's jump right into it shall we?" The new arrival said, voice distorted by the hand over his mouth but still carrying over our stunned silence.

The black, smoky ring widened and then another figure appeared. He seemed to be made of the same stuff the vortex was, his body a black smoke with gleaming eyes. "Ahh. All Might does not seem to be here, Tomura."

"Hmm?" Tomura said, his already crazed looking eyes maddening. "So where is he then? Is he hiding or something? Did we receive the wrong information?"

"No. Our information was accurate. There must be some other reason for his absence."

"Oh? Well then, let's see if he comes out of his hidey-hole when he hears his students squeal."

Bakugou jumped for Tomura, his hand already lit up with the start of an explosion. "You'll be doing the squealing!" He shouted.

Another black ripple appeared behind Tomura and Bakugou was teleported away. "These kids seem even more dangerous than we thought."

"Then get rid of them already, Kurogiri." Tomura seemed completely unconcerned by the close call.

Kurogiri called another of his teleporting vortexes but it suddenly faded. Mr Aizawa had his eyes trailed on the shadowy figure, gaze intense and scarf hanging loose. "Ahh. The underground hero Eraser Head. You mind giving me some help Tomura? It seems he has locked away my quirk for as long as his gaze is on me."

"Tch." Tomura muttered, then moved. He was fast. Momo's perfectly orderly arrangement had been broken as some of the class stumbled back or moved forward to try and fight, or do anything at all. Meanwhile Tomura just weaved into the throng and grabbed the easiest looking target- Aoyama. His grey hand wrapped around Aoyama's neck, and Aoyama's shirt collar started… Disintegrating. That was the only way I could describe it. It was as though the shirt was aging a hundred years in a single moment. It became brown, wrinkled then shriveled into little bits of dust that floated away. Aoyama was in pain as the skin of his neck began disintegrating just as quickly as the shirt had, screaming and face pale with fear. A pit formed in my stomach, and I wanted to help but Aizawa had responded far faster than I could.

Without a moment of hesitation he moved his gaze to Tomura and the process stopped.

Kurogiri took that gap to use his own quirk, warping behind and without any preamble using another warp, or maybe even several of them to send us away. I had made to move, to fight back but Kurogiri just warped behind me and took me unawares, doing the same for any other stragglers.

* * *

There was a moment when I was surrounded by black smoke, where I seemed to be stuck in a smog with no clear orientation, and then I stepped out and I was in a rocky desert. It was probably used to simulate quakes or something, but now it was completely still. Two more figures stepped out after me, one stumbling into me.

"Oops. Sorry, I guess."

Jirou Kyoya, a plain looking girl with string like earlobes said. She always looked completely cool, calm and collected but there was a vaguely panicked glint in her eye.

"Are you all okay?" I asked

Jirou nodded along with Momo, who had come through the portal immediately after Jirou. "Yes, we're fine. That was a rather strange sensation. It didn't feell like we moved at all." Momo said in confusion.

"It was like we were there one moment, and now we're here." Jirou added

"Wherever here is…" Momo said

"We're still in the USJ." I gestured to the walls around us, the tall cement walls with square patterns in every direction you cared to look was really distinct.

"Perhaps a limit on the distance he can teleport?"

"No. I don't think so. If there was a limit that short he wouldn't have been able to get into UA without being spotted, teleporting all through the grounds. No, Kurogiri must be able to teleport relatively long distances, at least I'm pretty sure those two wouldn't have got in any other way, not in UA. There must be another reason we were sent here."

"Well, they definitely didn't want us all together." Jiruo ran a hand through her short raven locks.

"Divide and conquer." Momo said "They don't want us working together. Maybe they just want to keep us here, as bait for All Might. That's why they're doing this, to get ahold of him."

"We can't let that happen. We need to get back to Aizawa and those villains."

"No way, man. I'm not going anywhere near that crazy hand- guy." Jirou shook her head.

"I agree. We shouldn't get involved in this, this isn't a situation we're capable of dealing with." Momo agreed with Jirou

"We're already involved in this!" I said and raised my voice, hands clenched tight.

"What can we do? This is our first week at UA! We can't handle a situation like this!" Momo combated

"And what? We're just supposed to sit tight, wait for the heroes to arrive? And what if-"

I stopped. Shit. How hadn't I sensed it earlier? We were surrounded, surrounded by over a dozen people. "… We've been ambushed." I whispered. Stupid. I should have figured it out earlier. When I first felt Kurogiri and Tomura appear I'd also sensed dozens of other quirks.

Their eyes widened. "What do we do?" Momo asked, voice softening and tinged with panic.

Laughter came from around us, figures appearing from the rocks. Villains.

"We deal with them." I said, mentally sorting through all the quirks.

Momou and Jirou were terrified. Frozen in place.

"Don't worry. These guys are nothing like the two we saw earlier. With my quirk I can get a sense for someone's strength. These guys are just small fry. We can handle them, I'm sure. Trust me."

The laughter increased. One of the villains, a tall muscular man wearing a mask reminiscent of a skull barked out. "Hear that guys? This skinny little brat says he can handle us."

Wings, black angel like wings burst from my back. I grinned, mouth full of razor-sharp jagged teeth. "I sure can."

One of the assembled villains stepped back. "Holy shit! It's the kid, the quirk-stealer from that video!"

The pseudo-leader, Skull Mask Dude I had dubbed him, held out a hand. "There's only one of him, and there's a lot more of us. He's just a kid besides, even someone with a quirk like that can't beat sheer numbers." There was a hint of uncertainty in his tone as he stared at what must no doubt be a very unnerving appearance.

I pulled a sword from my chest, my shirt hanging in tatters after being forced to deal with the sudden growth of new limb and bone. This sword, unlike it's predecessor, was perfectly straight and completely uniform. It shone like silver in the light. I'd even managed to have a name engraved on the steel- **ENDER**. So I liked showing off, so what? "Let's test that theory out then." I glanced back at Momo and Jirou. They looked less afraid, they'd stopped shaking entirely and were instead glaring at the assembly of villains. "You two hang back. I'll handle this."

I stepped forward. "No way." Their voices called "We're not damsels in distress." Jirou said.

"We can handle ourselves. I'm still not sure about this, but I'm not going to stand back and do nothing while you fight. I'm in the hero course too." Momo agreed.

"Whatever." I said, running at the villains. Some of them stepped back at the sheer crazed gleam in my eye, but many charged back.

The first one I came across, the guy I'd copied the razor teeth from, jumped at my neck with his own, shinier, bigger set of teeth bared. I batted him aside with a wing and hit the next villain in the side of the head with the dull side of my sword. A few villains circled around me, and my ears stretched and pulled until they hung near my shoulders. One side was longer than the other, yes, but they were both still tipped with earphone jacks. Earphone jacks that I used like little daggers, stabbing them into the eyes of a green skinned villain I was armlocked with. He howled in pain, eye juice rolling like tears down his face. A swing of my blade cut across his chest and blood spurted out. My wings that I'd been flapping wildly to prevent being blindsided suddenly burnt in pain as they were yanked back.

I glanced back. A gremlin looking guy was grinning at me viciously as he grabbed at my wings. "We've got you now, brat."

I grinned back. "I don't think so." I deactivated the quirk and the wings shriveled and wasted away, the gremlin villain grabbing air. With an oversized arm I slapped him into a boulder. That had felt really good. Flexing the arm and it's new set of muscles and spikes I glanced around imperiously. "Come get it."

I took out one villain after another, barely having any trouble at all. It may have been early to say so but I felt like I was already noticeably more fit, my breath lasted longer and I felt lighter on my feet. And if I wasn't deluding myself it was a definite improvement over being completely reliant on my quirk to deal with fights.

Then a yell caught my attention. Momo was downed, Skull Mask leering down at her. With enhanced hearing I could make out what the villain was saying.

"You have an amazing figure for a student. Let's have some fun, okay?"

"Get back!" Momo said, holding her hands up. Her staff had been broken and Jirou was knocked out too, slumped on the floor.

I roared, and the wings were back, batting aside two guys around me. I cut them down with my sword, too angry and desperate to be concerned with being gentle. These guys… They were fucking disgusting. They needed to be put down.

Skull Mask wasn't ready for me, I dropped from the sky and kicked him to the ground. When he was down I punched at his head until he was out cold, then I gave a few more for good measure.

I helped Momo and Jirou up, looking them over to make sure they hadn't been… Well. Momo's much too revealing costume had been tugged at but she was still perfectly fine. Nothing unsavoury had happened, thankfully.

"…Thank you." Momo muttered, staring at the ground.

"Don't worry about it." I said. "We need to figure out what we're going to do." We didn't have time to stop now, or take a break. We needed to deal with Tomura and Kurogiri, asap.

Momo was visibly shaking when she spoke up.

"We are only first years. We aren't capable of handling something like this, we need the teachers." Momo's voice quivered. Jirou, standing alongside quietly observing, was trembling slightly. This wasn't a simulation or a battle room test. This was real, and it was scary. I didn't blame them for being afraid.

"And what if they don't get here in time? What if they arrive here to find half our classmates dead and Mr Aizawa lying broken on the ground? What will your prudence be worth then, huh?" I spat on the ground, blood mixed in. Very rapid changes in physiology have some consequences, even if my quirk helped deal with most of the fallout.

Momo frowned. "We can't beat them. Didn't you see how quickly that Kurogiri person warped us out of the way? Those aren't regular villains, those are professionals. For them to have infiltrated UA and so easily dealt with Thirteen, there's no way first years can beat them!"

"We don't need to beat them. That's not the intention. But we can definitely delay them enough so that the rest of you are free to escape and the teachers can get here. I'm sure I can do that much at least."

"I know that the others say that you've defeated a real villain already but you didn't exactly do that well when we were fighting Bakugou." Momo said cattily. Why was she being so combative? Hadn't I just saved her from those villains a minute back?

"Neither did you, so you can jus-" I paused, sighing. "I'm sorry. Look, this is a good plan alright? Yeah, I'm biased but I really think this is the best thing we can do in these circumstances. And it's definitely better than us arguing right now, when the others are in trouble." Momo's features softened and she bit her lip.

"Y-you're right, I'm sorry. And it is a good plan, I can't think of anything better. But how are we going to do it exactly? We don't have the time to go running around the entire USJ to find everybody and I don't know my way around."

"You're the vice president, right?" I said, smiling. "Well then, let's work out a plan, together."

Momo smiled back tentatively "Okay…"

* * *

We walked and talked, both because we needed to make up ground and because I could tell Momo and Jirou were on edge standing around theire would-be rapists. Attempted rape was something female heroes had to come to terms with and shrug off without a second thought but Momo and Jirou weren't real heroes yet, they could be forgiven being a little shaken up. I was impressed they took it in as much stride as they did, actually.

I looked up. The walls were thick, strong, but the ceiling was made of glass and the sunlight from outside filtered in. "What about the roof? The glass should be weak enough to break without much difficulty, right?"

We were trying to come up with viable options for escape but there was only one entrance- as far as we knew- in and out of USJ. Blowing a hole through the wall wasn't an option either. I dont think even Bakugou could do that yet.

"I don't think that will work either. Who's to say what sort of damage we could cause by blowing up one of those glass sheets? And I don't think UA would leave such an easy entrance into their facilities without some sort of security. Without knowing what sort of security they have up there it would be really dangerous to go that way." Momo said thoughtfully

"Not to take into consideration how vulnerable we would be getting up there…" I added, seeing her point. "Looks like the only way out is the way we came in."

I recalled my entrance exam, when a gap in the giant robots had given me the lead over Todoroki and Inasa. "We need a messenger. The fastest person in our class, and we need to give him the space to pass by those villains. But not all of us should do it. Some of the students in class are more vulnerable then others and the more people we have up there fighting the more targets those two have. You saw what happened to Aoyama." That Iida would be the first choice for messenger was a given, he was the fastest person in class after all. The guy literally had engines on his legs.

Momo frowned, the some are more vulnerable than others line seemed to have upset her a bit. Maybe she didn't like calling out her fellow classmates flaws, she was nice like that. But we needed to be realistic. "Then we should have most of the class gather near enough to the exit to see what's happening and jump in if needed but far enough to be safe."

"And we need to gather them, with a team or maybe on of the class… Someone fast enough to move through the areas quickly, maneovrable enough to get by any obstacles and strong enough to provide backup if anyone needs it."

"Izuku!" Inasa's voice came from overhead. He was flying, like I'd guessed he could but never actually seen- and which he had repeatedly refused to inform me while smiling smugly. Tsuyu was gripping tightly onto his back with terror in her eyes. Talk about good timing…

* * *

**Sorry about the late upload, life happens I guess. If you liked it please review, favorite or follow. And if you didn't let me know what went wrong so that I can do better next time. Thanks to everyone who has already done so, I really appreciate it. No further context on the story will be given this chapter, I barely had the time to edit it (which I did very quickly, so forgive any mistakes).**


	9. Chapter 9

The clanging, banging sounds of fighting could be heard from where we'd set up a makeshift camp, we were close enough to the villains that if you listened close enough you would just barely make out indistinct voices yelling curses or grunting and groaning with effort. I saw a large black villain fighting Aizawa, luckily the other two bigshot villains were just standing nearby and watching the scene play out. I wouldn't want to get in the way of a monstrous looking guy like that either.

"Okay, you and Jirou need to wait here and provide backup to any of the students who may have gotten hurt. Do you think you'll be able to handle that , Momo?" I asked her, looking her in the eye.

She looked down. "Yes… Though, I can't really help with making any medicine. The best I can do is bandaging and a little first aid."

I nodded. "I understand. Do what you can. It may be that everyone's okay and there won't be any help needed, but we need to prepared for everything. You'll have to guard everyone when they get here too. Remember, if Bakugou, Iida and Todoroki arrive make sure you send them over and explain the plan."

Momo nodded. "Got it. We've gone over this enough times."

"I just want to make sure everything runs as smoothly as it can, given the circumstances." I apologized

A yell of pain got both our attention. That had been Mr Aizawa's voice. I looked up, to the exit. Aizawa was on the ground, being held down by the black villain. "Shit." I muttered, then ran.

* * *

Blood was running from Aizawa's face as a giant of a villain- he was even bigger up close than he had looked back down there amidst the rocky outcrop- shoved the teacher's head into the ground. Aizawa was staring at the villain with red eyes, and I realized that he must be playing a deadly version of a staring match. If he blinked even once this villain, who had super strength, would turn his head into a red, mushy paste. I paused. Wait… This villain… He had more than one quirk. Super regeneration, shock absorption… I had never encountered something like this before. It was a totally new experience for me. If the situation weren't so dire I would have stopped to question the beak-faced black villain about how exactly he had managed to get something like that right, because he definitely didn't have a copying quirk like I did.

"Mr Aizawa!" I shouted, drawing his attention.

"Idiot! Get away from here! These villains, they're way above your level." His eyes never left the black creature. They were starting to tremble, the veins around his eyes stood out prominently and his eyelids trembled. He didn't have much longer.

"No way! You can consider insubordination another one of the reasons I'm a terrible fit here at UA if you'd like, but there is no way I'm leaving you to deal with that thing alone!"

There were many downed villains lying around, products of Mr Aizawa's skill I assumed, and I could pick and choose quirks to my hearts content. I took as many of them as I could.

Indescribable pain, the likes of which I had never felt before, fell on me. My body twisted, warped and bled. My skin darkened to nearly the same black of the Noumu, my hair grew long and wavy. New bones grew until I barely resembled a human being anymore. I hissed in pain, my jaw clenched too tightly for a scream to issue. My clothes had been shredded, thus making it the second time I had destroyed my outfit in the same amount of classes.

I'd had enough thought to copy Momo's creation quirk, my nose bleeding from the strain even as I did, struggling under the strain of copying so many quirks simultaneously and exhibiting them so rapidly. A seamless suit of lightweight combat armor covered my form, darker than even my new skin.

I roared, eyes trained on the black villain. I felt tremendously powerful, powerful and angry. Rage built in my chest for seemingly no reason at all, and I wanted nothing more but to crush the villains under my strength.

"Get rid of the kid, Noumu." Tomura drawled, a hint of venom in his voice.

The black villain, the Noumu let out a squeal like cry and made for me. I blocked his punch with a single arm. Had it just been strength against strength the Noumu would still have ripped my arm from it's socket by the sheer force of his attack, even blessed with the dregs of the same strength enhancement quirk as I was. As it turned out, with my shining eyes trained onto him the Noumu was only a fraction of his true might. I couldn't outright remove his quirk, unfortunately, but with the reduction in strength it felt as though I was blocking the punch of a primary school brat. I shoved the arm aside and clocked him in the beak. He stumbled back, his shock absorption, even reduced as it was, turning a ko shot aside.

I hit him, over and over again. My new physical might overcoming even his shock absorption. He punched back though, and each of his shots still _hurt_. They hurt badly, but I was used to pain and he wasn't the only one of us two who had regeneration now. The bruises turned purple, then slowly began disappearing after I was hit. They would have turned purple I mean, if my skin wasn't the same color as rubber.

Then a thought came to me— why was I limiting myself to this creature's fighting style? I didn't need to be a brawler. No… With all these quirks around, I could be whatever I wanted. I smiled, then pulled another sword from my chest. This one was massive, easily taller than I was without all these quirks at my disposal. Just the notion that I would have been able to hold this blade aloft with strength enhancement quirks would have been laughable but now it felt lighter than bamboo. It was still more a big slab of sharpened steel than a sword, with a rudimentary hilt. But it was also, of course, still engraved along the side. **ENDER2** was printed on either side in a fancier font than the first iteration had been.

Noumu punched at my head.

I hacked off his arm.

He squealed in pain, beak open wide and showing a row of human teeth that looked disturbing on the beak like mouth. Just as I'd thought, shock absorption, while handy for blunt force damage, wasn't all that useful against sharp and pointy weaponry.

"Tomura, I don't think Noumu can handle this boy alone." Kurogiri announced

In his agony Noumu kicked at me, and it connected. It connected while my eyes were closed, a momentary blink, and launched me back and into the wall, back embedded in concrete. My sword flew from my grasp, landing who knows where. The breath was knocked from me, blood spattering all over. My spine was, if not broken then badly damaged. And before I could think Noumu was there again, punching me over and over. Each hit connected like a freight train, and each hit broke something I was sure. That fraction of second when his full strength had been allowed free he'd turned the tide of the fight completely around.

"Maybe. But he doesn't need our help just yet." Tomura answered gleefully

In a panic I locked my eyes on him again. The next shot, connecting to my battered body, barely hurt at all in comparison. "You fucking piece of shit…" I groaned, pulling at my chest. "Now I have to make a new sword."

The metal slab, thinner and shorter than it's elder brother, now that my energy levels were becoming dangerously low, had **ENDER3** written on it's side. I stabbed it out, to meet the Noumu in it's chest. As it clutched at the blade I kicked it off, tugging the blade back at the same time. The Noumu slid cleanly off, it's blood dripping off the edge. I gasped and pulled myself free of the wall. I could barely move.

Glancing at the Noumu I saw it was licking it's wounds too, the hole in it's chest was still fresh but it's arm was already growing back. What would it take to kill this thing? I hadn't hit it's heart, unfortunately, but even if I could manage to do that with this sword I didn't think it would be enough to end him. Maybe just slow him down enough for me to recover somewhat.

I sighed, and threw my sword at the Noumu. I liked these swords, and it took a lot out of me to make one. It stuck in the things shoulder, wide off the mark of where I'd been aiming for-it's heart- but at least vaguely on point. My aim was even more terrible, usually. Thank god for random quirks.

"Get rid of the brat already Kurogiri." Tomura said.

Damn. I'd forgotten about Kurogiri's quirk. I glanced at Kurogiri. The black smoke still appeared, but now it was insubstantial, too weak to pull me in. I moved away, hoping against hope that the Noumu was still recovering and wouldn't come out of nowhere to knock me into another wall.

Kurogiri followed, the smoky vortex of his quirk appearing over or ahead of me as thin spinning smoke. I didn't think he could teleport me away like that but I dodged them regardless. Quickly it became apparent that this wasn't a sustainable way to fight. It was difficult dodging someone's attacks when you had to maintain eye contact with them at all times. Then I heard Noumu's squeal- roar come near, and I knew I was in for it.

"Step back." A voice said, and I complied immediately. A wave of ice cut Kurogiri and Noumu off from me. Kurogiri teleporting entirely out of the way but Noumu had it's free arm and part of it's torso frozen.

Todoroki landed on his towering ice wall and stared at the scene. His eyes froze on Aizawa's bloody, still form.

"He's still alive." I said. "But he'll need help, and soon."

Todoroki nodded, almost imperceptibly. "I got the plan from Yaoyorozu. What's going on here?"

"That Noumu, the black thing, he's bad news. Super strength, regeneration and shock absorption- and all of them at a super high level. I think they got this guy to be their 'All Might Killer', it's as though he was somehow specifically designed to combat All Might. But that's impossible, of course."

"So we double team the Noumu then take out the rest. The decay villain seems to be hanging back, acting as some sort of tactician. The leader, I suspect. I don't think he'll get involved until necessary, doesn't seem to like getting his hands dirty."

"No." I said. "Kurogiri can end our plan with a moments notice. He warps even one of us away and it's game over. I'll handle Noumu, you keep Kurogiri occupied, take him out if you can. If you see an opening on Noumu, freeze him. I don't think even his regeneration will be capable of fixing him if he's shattered like glass. And watch out for that hand-fetish weirdo, too."

Todoroki glanced back, confused. "Why don't you just take my quirk?"

"Copy, copy your quirk. I don't take quirks. And I don't think it's a good idea at the moment." I said, gesturing to my mutated form. Now that I saw it there was actually several extra, completely unnecessary bones jutting out from my ribcage, one of the results of copying quirks thoughtlessly.

Todoroki nodded, then hopped down. A sheet of ice grew beneath his feet without a word or gesture. The control he possessed was astounding.

I put my attention back where it belonged— the Noumu. Another sword, this time completely regular sized and named **ENDER4**, and I was off.

Noumu was completely healed by now. He fought back like a man possessed. He certainly looked the part too. It seemed that even though he didn't seem to have much in the way of intelligence he was at least capable of remembering my sword because he avoided the thing like it carried an STD. With my eyes trailed on him he was weaker, slower than I was and so it was only right that I managed to get in a few good swipes even with his newfound cautiousness. His body bled but the gashes were healed over faster than the mind could fathom. Sometimes a wound would be closed before the blood landed on the floor. And that incredible healing factor was only a _fraction_ of what it should have been.

My eyes burnt with the strain of being held open and I had to take a blink, thrusting my sword out to force the Noumu on the offensive and give me some time. In the fraction of a second that my eyes had closed I opened them to find the Noumu's fist headed toward my face, having dodged the blade with ease. It connected but by then my sight was on him again. It still made me feel light headed and nearly floored me but it wasn't the kill shot that it could have been. That was a close call.

My enhanced hearing made out Tomura. "If you want something done you have to do it yourself…"

And then Tomura's decaying quirk- I mentally pictured it as a grey orb with a sickly feeling- headed right at me. And another quirk came then too, and I copied it without hesitation. A wave of my hand and a powerful burst of wind threw Noumu back, just far enough for me to impale my sword through it's head.

I spun around, sending another wave of air toward Tomura.

He dodged it and made a hiss of annoyance through his teeth. "You… What right do you have to wield my sensei's quirk?"

The man was deranged, clearly. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, hand fetish guy. This quirk is mine and mine alone, and it's always been that way."

"I saw you… I saw you on that video. Taking quirks however you pleased… That quirk doesn't belong to you! You don't deserve a quirk like that!" Tomura said, having ignored me completely

I scowled. "I'm getting really tired of saying this… I don't _take_ quirks. I copy them!"

I swung both my arms and a tornado rose. Tomura was lifted, up and into the wildly spinning miniature tornado. Tomura's body was lifted up, up until it nearly reached the glass dome. Falling from that height without a quirk to aid in breaking the fall would be devastating. A black vortex appeared overhead almost as soon as the danger showed itself, Kurogiri appearing way up high and grabbing the decay villain before teleporting straight down again. Todoroki must have let the teleporting villain escape.

"These two children… They are proving tremendously more difficult than they should." Kurogiri said to Tomura.

"Three. There are three of us now. Won't you please consider giving up now?" Inasa landed beside me, smiling as always.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "You're supposed to be helping the others." I was glad to see him sure, but there were priorities to consider.

"Taken care of, President. They're all safe."

I nodded at him. "Good."

A chill crept up my back. I glanced back to see a wall of ice and a squealing, sword-in-head-free Noumu. Damn that thing's regeneration.

"He snuck up on you. Don't you know how to be aware of your environment?" Todoroki asked. He was speaking directly to Inasa and ignoring me completely.

"Shut up." Inasa retorted

"Enough, both of you. This is not the time for bickering."

"Definitely not. It's the time for you meddling brats to die. Kurogiri, bring those two experimental Noumu here."

Kurogiri raised a smoky eyebrow at Tomura's order. "They are not quite ripe yet… Sensei will be most displeased."

"Do it!" Tomura snapped, his hand twitching.

Two black vortexes appeared and from them two more creatures, akin in appearance to Noumu. One of them had shriveled looking wings and the other, whilst not as big as the original Noumu, was still a very large and intimidating figure.

"Inasa, Todoroki! Let's get them now, while they're still vulnerable!" I called, already charging and condensing a ball of sharp, razor like wind.

"On it." Inasa answered, currents of wind streaming from his upturned hand. He pointed at the Noumus, and a wild torrent of wind blasted at the two Noumu, even as they had yet to fully emerge from the smoky blackness of Kurogiri's warp quick.

The wind was buffeted by a rising wave of icy spikes that had been shot from Todoroki. Both attacks collided mid-course and diverted, harmlessly passing on either side of the villains. My jaw clenched in anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Todoroki?!" Inasa howled, glaring.

"I was going to take those two out until you got in the way, fool." Todoroki said icily.

Inasa's rebuttal was stopped by me. "Just shut the fuck up, both of you." I said, and tossed the ball of wind at the Noumu's. It exploded, shredding everything around it. That did not, unfortunately, include the Noumu's. The flying one had flew up and out of the way. The other had been shoved aside by his larger, blacker brother. Shit. That original was getting on my damn nerves, that was for sure.

The Original seemed to know my thoughts, because I swear it seemed to grin at me with it's beak like face.

I hit it in the side of the head, hard enough to send it flying. "Since you two seem incapable of working together, split up and take a pair each. If I take my eyes off this one it's game over for all of us, he's the toughest by far."

"Got it." Todoroki said, Inasa nodding.

My eyes held onto the Noumu's form. I knew what it could do with even a moment of respite from my quirk-weakening eyes. So I held fast, and attacked the thing with all I had. Physical damage was pretty much negated by it's immense healing factor and shock absorption quirk, even weakened as they were and even with the multitude of physical quirks enhancing my strength I had yet to land a decisive victory.

If I'd managed to have Todoroki freeze the damn thing I could easily have shattered it into a billion pieces, a prospect that was becoming more and more attractive as I was forced to deal with the thing.

Wait.

Just because the quirks I'd stacked together earlier weren't effective in tandem didn't mean that I couldn't make a combo that was. I'd foolishly, frantically grabbed basically everything that was within range. But quantity of quirk didn't necessarily mean that they would work well together. I'd been foolish in my choices, but now I knew exactly what to expect. I knew exactly what I needed to take out this Noumu, I needed a package of quirks tailored to handing out as much damage as possible, as quickly as possible. I grinned toothily while plunging a fist into the Noumu's chest.

"Disintegrate." I said as my hand touched his chest. The black flesh rapidly gave way, cracking and turning to dust in moments.

The Noumu squealed and leapt away, but the deep scar on his chest was slower to heal than my other attacks had been. I grinned, and swapped out a quirk. Limbs, many limbs came from my back, stretching wide. I looked like a many armed, black, armor wearing Noumu. I had horns too, I'd seen my reflection for a moment in Todoroki's ice. God that sounded cool. I flexed each of my many new hands.

"Let's see how this goes now, shall we?"

It went a lot better. I'd never actually used palm strikes before but they seemed to come easily enough, even if they weren't as powerful as a punch would be, with Tomura's quirk they were even more devastating, peeling flesh with each blow. Noumu didn't even pretend to keep up an offensive, it just kept trying to get away. But with the wind at my feet there was no running.

It looked as though I was about to finish him, his body was riddled with holes and decayed flesh. I grinned in anticipation.

And then the things head exploded.

"Die!" Bakugou roared, landing.

Maybe it had been somewhat of a misnomer to say that the things head had exploded. No, the Noumu's head, shoulders, arms and a good majority of it's torso had been blown to fleshy tatters. It's body lie still, not a thing regenerating. I guess it still needed a brain to control those functions. Now it didn't have one.

Bakugou actually seemed to grin in glee at my thunderous expression. "Shoulda finished up faster, Deku."

"That's what she said." I replied. My black skin turned clear, my quirk muscles shrivelling.

Bakugou frowned. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Ask your mom." I said, turning away and back to the others but eager to get some sort of payback for my stolen kill.

I could practically hear the realization come to Bakugou. When it did he roared in anger, and swore up a storm but by then I was already with Todoroki and Inasa. Todoroki was clutching his arm to his side. It was red and painful looking, and though I couldn't be sure it seemed obvious that Tomura must have gotten to it. Eijiro was there too, fist's clenched and a grin on his face.

"Eijiro, what are you doing here?"

"Came with Bakugou." Eijiro grunted, dodging an attack from the tall Noumu.

Todoroki was keeping Tomura and another black Noumu back, with Eijiro used to block blows from the physically more powerful Noumu. This Noumu, while pretty strong was nowhere near as powerful as the original, now deceased one. I couldn't see Inasa but the wild winds that twisted and whirled nearby was proof that he was handling the others pretty well himself.

"I thought I told Momo to only allow Bakugou, Iida and Todoroki through."

"Well, Iida was already sent through. He managed to get through the entrance without any problem, with these guys as tied up as they are."

I breathed a sigh of relief. We seemed to be having these villains on their heels but if the teachers didn't arrive soon Aizawa and Thirteen may not survive. "Good. That's good. But why are you here?"

"I wanted to help out. Momo didn't want me to but Bakugou told her he didn't give a damn what you said."

I blinked. "He said it a lot less politely than that, didn't he?"

Kirishima grinned. "Yep. Wanted to spare your ears."

I grinned back. "Sure… Let's finish these guys off already."

Black, feathered wings popped from my back, and I gave them a few test flutters before carefully flying up and yanking the smaller Noumu from the air. As much as I had always wanted to have a badass air chase this wasn't really the best time for that. Instead I'd waited until it was pretty much overhead then sprang straight up, wings and wind aiding me. I twisted on it's leathery back and grabbed it's wings firmly, thus ending it's flight.

I landed, surfing the Noumu's face in the gravel. It screamed and howled, and those screams and howls got louder when it's wings began to decay. With Tomura's quirk the creatures wings began to shrivel, it's wings quickly dying. It writhed and screamed, but it was pointless. It couldn't fly any longer. It couldn't live much longer if I kept it up.

But I wasn't completely heartless. I wouldn't kill this thing without being forced to.

I let it go and materialized thick rope to bind it. "Hey, Eijiro. Give me a hand, would you?"

"Sure." Eijiro said, helping me tie the green creature down. With it not having the ridiculous levels of strength of the other two it wouldn't be able to break free. We may have used more rope than was necessary but it was better to be sure than not. Also we were both pretty pissed off at the whole situation.

I eyed Tomura. The man seemed to be in a panic, barely escaping Todoroki's ice blasts. The only reason he hadn't been caught yet is because Todoroki's attacks were coming slower and further between. He seemed to be in pain. The ice, I reasoned. He was getting backlash from the cold, from his own quirk. And he stillTI wasn't using his flame side? Come on, even I knew that was dumb. It couldn't be that risky, could it?

"Let's get this guy." I said to Eijiro, my body becoming more angular and hard as stone as I mimicked his quirk.

"… Your quirk is so damn cool, man." Eijiro said.

At seeing us approach I saw Tomura's eyes widen in shock. "Kurogiri! We need to get out of here- these kid's have ruined the plan!"

"I'm kind of occupied right now, Tomura." Kurogiri said as he warped next to Tomura. To punctuate the statement Bakugou appeared behind Kurogiri and launched an explosion right at the villain's head.

"Fucking die already, you shitty mid-boss!"

They weren't caught in the blast. I could tell that even with the massive plume of smoke from Bakugou's explosion because I could still sense them. Kurogiri must have managed to bypass the attack with his infuriating quirk.

The rising smoke was instantly dispelled, Inasa's form appearing in midair. He wasn't even sweating, looking completely at ease. "Perhaps you gentleman would like to give up right now?"

"Damn it all! We need to escape, right now! Get us out of here!" Tomura screamed. He looked like a kid throwing a tantrum.

Kurogiri paused. "What about the rest? It will take some time for me to teleport everyone else out as well."

"Forget about them! We're over our heads here, and those guys were all just cannon-fodder at best!"

The doors, the massive steel and many ton weighing doors of USJ were blown off their hinges and thrown far out of view. The light shone in, illuminating All Might's imposing bulk. The man who was known to always save people with a smile was not smiling right now. No, he looked terrifying right then. I took a step back involuntarily, forgetting for a moment that I was a hero in training and that he wasn't looking for me. His blue eyes quickly darted about, surveying the situation. They seemed to momentarily pause and sharpen at the forms of his downed peers.

"So. You think you can do this to my school, villains?"

Then he was there, face to face with Tomura. I hadn't even seen him move at all.

"Do you?" All Might asked Tomura

Tomura stumbled back, falling to the floor. "I-i-I…"

Kurogiri transported the fallen Tomura away. And none too soon, because where Tomura had stood was now a giant gaping hole in the ground too deep for me to see the bottom. All Might had his arm outstretched. That was the only way I knew he had been responsible for that.

All Might moved again, and another scar was torn into the ground where Kurogiri and Tomura had just been.

The Number One Hero was playing no games right now. He wanted the two down, that was for sure.

It followed the same vein for a bit, with Kurogiri desperately teleporting the two non-stop. If he had paused for even a second he would have been reduced to nothingness.

And then they teleported near me, just a few meters from where I was. They had come to the conclusion that All Might couldn't attack quite so viciously if they used us as meat shields. The man wouldn't want to harm his own students, of course. But All Might wasn't the only one they had to look out for. I sprang forward, having prepared myself for just this, and swung my sword. With my own version of Aizawa's quirk slowing Kurogiri down there was no escape.

**ENDER2** had been knocked from my grasp by Noumu but after dealing with the flying one I'd managed to find it again, lying on the ground. I don't think I'd have had enough in me to make another one. I was running on fumes as it was. And it was a good thing I had too, because now villain blood sprayed on the ground courtesy of one badass sword, even if the minor strength enhancing quirks I had were barely enough to get the huge hunk of metal moving.

"Aaaah!" Tomura cried, holding the bloody end of his elbow. His right forearm was lying on the ground lamely.

I'd thought about attacking Kurogiri- but then the villain was made of smoke, wasn't he? I couldn't exactly land a clean cut. And now that bastard had only one hand to use his decay quirk with. I hoped he bleed out.

Kurogiri stared at me in that moment, shocked. Then they both disappeared.

Shit. I'd managed to work out how the black villain's quirk worked, to a degree. He needed some time, some concentration to make best use of his quirk. The less time he had to prepare the shorter the distance he could teleport. It was why he hadn't already managed to escape with Tomura, hassled as he was by all of us and All Might in particular. But the sheer panic of Tomura possibly bleeding out must have given him the urge he needed to dig deeper, just as sheer panic had helped me discover a new edge to my quirk.

"Damn it!" Bakugou roared.

All Might clenched his jaw in anger. Then he sighed. "I'll get them another time, I suppose… I won't forget this." He muttered, then spoke louder. "You kids did well, amazingly well. I am so proud of you all for facing these villains so splendidly, and so ashamed that I wasn't here so that you didn't have to do it at all. Please, forgive me." He, the number one hero, actually bowed to us- mere students.

"Hey, don't worry about it Mr All Might! We're just glad you're here at all." Eijiro said

Inasa waved his arms about. "Amazing! To be thanked by All Might himself… I am so proud of myself!" Then he broke out into tears of joy.

All Might coughed at the display. "Uhm… yes. But this is no time for conversation! We need to get the wounded to safety!"

My head started swirling, and I began losing my balance. "It looks like I'll be one of them, then." I said, falling.

A pair of arms stopped me from hitting the ground. Inasa looked at me with concern. "Izuku! Are you alright?!"

My eyes, against my will, began closing. "Nope, I'm not. Hey, Inasa." I began, remembering something.

"Yeah?" he asked

"Make sure they keep Momo with me until I'm at least in the nurses office."

Inasa blinked, then grinned. "Oh? Looks like someone has a crush. How… Passionate!"

I wanted to hit him. "No, you idiot. My real clothes were torn apart when I first transformed to save Mr Aizawa. This is something I made with Momo's quirk. If I drop her quirk or if she's out of range it'll melt away into nothingness."

And I didn't want to flash the whole class less than a week in.

"Oh." Inasa said, and I passed out.

* * *

I woke up in the nurse's office in UA, my eyes blearily opening to see the unadorned walls and bare features. Two people were talking nearby, Recovery Girl and someone else. I couldn't place the voice. It sounded worn and aged. But I could feel the quirk.

All Might.

It didn't sound at all like the powerful, resonant voice I'd heard talk down the villains before I passed out in USJ. And so, curious, I slowly, hesitantly tilted my head up, peering through nearly closed eyes.

The man was wearing much too baggy clothes, his shirt pretty much swallowing his features and his pants miraculously held up. His hair was blonde, but it didn't carry the same liveliness it usually did. I nearly gasped at his face, but kept it to a near inaudible squeak. They didn't seem to have noticed. Gaunt and shadowy, it looked like a skull had been wrapped in a thin skin. But the eyes, the eyes were the same. A cold, hard blue.

This was All Might.

I could barely believe it. But the evidence was there, a quirk signature could not be fooled. It was more precise, more apparent than even a fingerprint would have been. Every signature was unique, I'd never come across a quirk signature that was exactly like another. Even the same quirk, like water manipulation, looked vastly different from one person to another to my quirk-field. But how could this be?

"… You stil haven't found one yet, have you?… A successor…" Recovery Girl said

All Might glanced about wildly, hushing her. "Ms Recovery Girl, you know that is not to be spoken of so openly."

Recovery Girl waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. But as a doctor it is my prerogative to care more about my patients health than their secrets. You can't keep doing this, Toshinori. You've long since overstepped your timeline. Nighteye recommended that third year boy but you still haven't agreed. I don't see how you could find a better prospect than that."

Sir Nighteye, All Might's legendary sidekick.

"It is not just a matter of how good a student seems on paper. I told Sir Nighteye that. There is an indefinable factor that must be taken into account. The intense desire to save others, even at a cost to one's own health."

Recovery Girl raised an eyebrow. "So, we're making recklessness a winning trait now?"

All Might frowned slightly "There is a difference between recklessness and bravery."

"You seem to cross that line all the time. I'm not sure there is a difference with you. If that's the case, what about this boy?"

She glanced right at me. My breath caught in my chest. I kept as still as possible, terrified that I'd been discovered.

"No. Not him." All Might said firmly. Anger and bitterness rose in my chest.

"Ahh… I see. He reminds you of All for One then. Their quirk is similar, very much so, but you would be blind to think they were even remotely similar. With what he did today I would say he is more like you than that man."

"Are you so sure? You didn't meet him a few months back. The boy has changed, dramatically I'll admit, but I still have my reservations."

Recovery Girl clicked her tongue. "You're too stubborn. Leave me to my patients already."

Dismissed by the annoyed little old lady, All Might left in a hurry.

Recovery Girl busied herself with her papers for a moment, then turned to get some things from a nearby medicine cabinet. Then she stopped, looking at my bed. She stared for a few seconds, then sighed. "I know you're awake, you know."

I clutched at my bedsheets and held my eyes tightly shut. I prayed that she let it go and figured she'd been seeing things. "It is easy to tell when someone is awake by their breathing pattern. And judging by yours you've been awake for at least a few minutes."

I stopped pretending and sat up, giving an exaggerated yawn and stretching my arms. Recovery Girl stared at me, not at all impressed.

"… You don't honestly expect me to fall for that, do you?"

I gave it up. "Okay, you got me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pretend."

She stared owlishly. "How much did you hear? What did you _see_? You'd better not lie to me, mister. You're in enough trouble as it is."

I gulped. "I heard… Well, I heard you and All Might talking. And I saw him. I mean, I saw how he really looks. How- how did something like that even happen? Was he always that way? Is that why he never speaks about his quirk?"

Recovery Girl gave me a hard look. "You didn't see anything. You didn't hear anything. If you mention anything about what happened here, or what you saw to anybody you'll be in more trouble than you can imagine."

"It's not like I meant for it to happen." I rebutted, annoyed at being treated like I'd done something wrong.

Recovery Girl softened. "I'm sorry, Midoriya. But what happened here today can't be spoken of to anyone, not even your best friends or even your mother. If word of this got out, of All Might's condition…"

It would mean trouble. A whole lot of trouble. All Might was single-handedly responsible for the stretch of peace we had. But that also meant that if word got around of any weakness the number one hero had, the seedy underbelly would be after him, and Japan would fall into war. "I won't. I promise.I don't know exactly what's going on, but for All Might I'll keep my mouth shut and forget it even happened."

Recovery Girl smiled. "And he says you're not a worthy candidate… But let's forget about that. I must say… I never thought you'd be up so quickly. If I had I'd never have spoken to All Might so openly."

I raised an eye. "Quickly? How long has it been, then?"

"It's been only a few hours since that terrible incident with the villains if that's what you're asking. With your injuries I'd wondered if you'd even be awake today. We were considering transferring you to a hospital but in the end with you it was less a matter of injuries and more extreme fatigue… I am told a villain's regeneration quirk is to blame for your miraculous good health." She seemed somewhat suspicious.

"Well, it beats having to stay in a hospital bed, that's for sure. Am I free to leave?" Recovery Girl whacked me on the head.

"You kids… Always running around without a care for your health. No, you're not free to leave. I'll be holding you here until I'm sure you're stable."

I groaned, but quickly let it go at a stare from the old woman.

Recovery girl gave me a teasing grin. "But I must say, you young kids are growing up so fast."

I stared quizzically. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Oh, back in my time no one dated until at least late into the first year, nowadays it's not even a week into school and girlfriends come to the infirmary and demand to inspect their boyfriends well being, top to bottom. Regardless of whether they've been suited up in a hospital gown yet or not."

I was completely and utterly lost at this new, seemingly random piece of information- until I realized what must have happened.

"Hatsumei…" I muttered through a clenched jaw.

* * *

**Hi again and thinks for reading this- yet again- very late chapter of Mimicry. I've been looking forward to this chapter for a while, and not because of what I hope was a good fight scene between Izuku and a slightly more powerful than canon Noumu. I really wanted to show how Izuku is developing as a character, though he doesn't realize it yet this event is a pivotal point for him and a moment where he cared more about the wellbeing of others than he did himself. It ws the first moment his desire to save other people came to the fore. In this iteration of the USJ event Izuku's popularity changed the way things were planned for, with All for One actually bestowing a more powerful regenerative ability on this Noumu and Tomura, who is envious of Izuku for his quirk, to take a more hardline approach, especially with the immediate opening salvo on Thirteen. **

**This chapter was also a bit of a bombshell to Izuku, as he comes to realize both All Might's secret and that his hero doesn't think all that highly of him. All Might clearly has reservations around Izuku, and much of that is to do with Izuku's quirk and the bad first impression he received of the boy. First impressions last, and I guess when a kid with the same quirk as your rival says something you think All for One would have said in his own youth it sort of sticks with you.**

**Somehow I have this niggling feeling that there are some plotholes up there somewhere, so I'm sorry if it was a bumpy ride for you, let me know if you find any so I can go back and fill it in later. If you liked this chapter please review, favourite or follow. I really appreciate everyone who has, it really helped push me to make writing this story a priority even amidst a really busy time.**


	10. Chapter 10

The moment I stepped into class I was greeted by clapping hands and a whoot from the back. I'd arrived later than usual on account of being pretty beat up from USJ and dragging my body through a morning workout regardless.

Clearly I'd missed something.

"All hail the mighty Izuku, quirk thief extraordinaire and to all the other mighty saviors of USJ!" Mina shouted in half praise, half mocking.

Blood came to my cheeks in spite of myself and I raised an eyebrow, pressing down the urge to comment that I copied quirks, I didn't steal them. "It was no problem!" Kirishima announced proudly, sparing me from having to respond.

Mina levelled a straight look at him. "… Not you. I'm talking about the four who dealt with those big black monsters and the two asshole villains who lead the invasion."

Eijiro looked sour. "Hey, I was there too! There were five of us, you know!"

"Well, you probably didn't do much you know? You're like, just a meat shield."

Eijiro looked like he would erupt. I had to cover my mouth to avoid chuckling aloud.

"Yes, they were magnificent! Although, I would have done the same, and with a lot more flair too!" Aoyama said.

Judging by the fact that he had been cowering away in the shelter with Momo and demanding first aid and plastic surgery because of a the semi-decayed skin of his neck and a tiny scratch he'd begotten while fending off a villain I really doubted that.

I, ignoring the proceeding banter as background noise, took out my notebook to begin scribbling, then stopped. Ever since I'd had to stretch my quirk field in the cafeteria it's range seemed on the fritz. It would sometimes shrivel, at other times it would expand larger then ever. It wasn't so bad that it would interfere with my fighting, but right now it meant that I felt a quirk approach that I wouldn't have been able to sense otherwise.

"…Aizawa's coming."

All arguments and discussions stopped immediately and the room was blanketed in silence until the door swung open. Aizawa paused at the door, surprised.

Then he looked straight at me with suspicion. There was no reason for him to suspect me of doing anything but the guy really didn't like me. Even after I'd probably saved his life it looked like that wouldnt change our dynamic at all.

"It looks like you're learning after all. I hope it becomes the norm."

He walked languidly over to his desk and stared out at the class. "… As I'm sure many of you have already guessed,the UA sports festival is approaching."

The UA sports festival was one of the most watched events in all of Japan. It was like a quirk olympics, the greatest students at the greatest hero school in all of Japan would be split by year and pitted against each other, class against class, team against team and student against student. It was a wondrous event for the common population to see heroes-in-training use their quirks in real situations.

"And with it is your opportunity to shine bright and get noticed by the pro-heroes. With this event standing out can mean the difference between getting invited into a prestigious hero agency or scraping by as a free agent, and more than that besides. It wouldn't be too farfetched to say that your future depends on it."

Everyone took it in silently. Then Inasa leapt to his feet, and with a foot on his desk and an arm in the air yelled out. "Okay everyone! Lets give it our all!"

If their were crickets nearby they would have been chirping like crazy. Iida was looking at Inasa's foot as though contemplating the fallback if he were to cut it off. I wondered whether I'd chosen a good best friend or not and Aizawa looked even more tired than usual.

"… Sit down, Inasa." Aizawa said, sighing.

* * *

As the school end bell rang my classmates were getting up to leave, chattering excitedly. The upcoming sports festival was a point of interest, everyone was talking about it. We wondered what the upcoming tasks would be like, how we were going to be paired up, how well we were going to do. Inasa had been yapping on and on about it for the whole day, making me put away my hero analysis notebook. I couldn't think with all the noise, just constantly writing the same notes over and over or idly doodling what were supposed to be quirks in use but looked like chicken scratch.

And so I packed my things away slowly, trying to prolong the effort so that most of the class would be long gone.

Except they weren't leaving.

They had all gathered at the door, looking out.

With my quirk I could sense loads of quirks waiting outside. Well, I mean there were probably people attached to those quirks of course. That's how these things usually went. Wondering what the commotion was all about I gathered my things and stood beside Kaminari.

"Hey, Kaminari. What's going on?"

Kaminari looked back. "Oh, Izuku. Can't you see? Those students are blocking the exit. Looks like Bakugou's arguing with one of them now, hopefully he doesnt decide to fight the poor guy…" He stopped, looking thoughtful. "Hey, you're the class rep, right? Shouldn't you step in before things get bad?"

Goddamnit, I hadn't wanted the job in the first place. I'd told them so! "…Nah. I don't think Bakugou will do anything. He's all bark, no bite. Especially now that he's grounded. His mom will kill him if he tries anything fucked up again."

Momo heard me and gave me a disapproving look. "That's not the sort of thing a responsible class representative would say, Izuku."

Wasn't she the vice-rep? Why was she laying this on me? "… Whatever. I'll deal with it."

They parted for me. Outside were more than a dozen students, most seemed to be gawking at us. They were the same age as us though, which meant they were probably scoping out the competition.

Bakugou was, as Kaminari had guessed, on the verge of blowing something up. Didn't that guy learn his lesson? Did he want to get expelled or something?

"I'll blow you all to bits, you two-bit characters!" his palms fizzled and popped.

Some of the kids stepped back, unnerved. One stood his ground though, and stared Bakugou down with analytical eyes. "You know…" the kid began "Students like us, in the general studies department can be transferred into the Hero Studies course based on how well we do in the sports festival… And the reverse is also true. A threat like that, it may just be taken as a declaration of war, you know?"

I interrupted before Bakugou could respond, because I wasn't sure that his response to something like that would be verbal. It would just as likely be physical communication, in the form of a fist to the face.

"Wouldn't be much of a war then. More like a slaughter. If you guys were good enough to matter you'd have made it into the hero studies courses without relying on a technicality. Don't think you can psyche us out by coming here and crowding around like the sheep you are." I said cockily, feeling embarrassed as soon as the words slipped out my mouth. The words had come without thinking, which meant I came off less as an authoritative class rep and more as an asshole, my default setting.

They hadn't noticed when I stepped out, but now they stared and pointed fingers, whispering amongst themselves. The general studies student looked like a deer caught in the headlights, wide eyed and barely breathing.

"Hey- that's him. The slime villain kid- the one they say is supposed to be All Might's protege." I heard one of them say.

One of the gathered students had a very different response though, far different than the rest. "You bastard!" He roared, shoving aside a student to get to the front.

I raised an eyebrow in response. "You talking to me?"

He jabbed a finger at my face. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! You think you can just copy my quirk and get all the glory and stuff, huh?! Well I'm not going to stand for it! I'm going to beat the shit out of you!"

I stopped. Was this guy upset that I'd copied his quirk once? It's not like I stole quirks, I just copied them. The guy was irrational. Then I actually checked his quirk.

"Huh? You can copy quirks too?" A memory had flashed in my head and I'd seen the blonde haired, blue eyed dude copy several quirks. His quirk felt… sticky, for lack of a better term. Like glue.

"Yes, I can." He spat bitterly "So why is it that you're the only one getting any attention, huh?! Why don't I have fans, why aren't I All Might's protege?!"

"Well, the last one isn't exactly accurate…" I said weakly "But I guess you must be really stupid or something. Bad enough that your quirk isn't enough to compensate."

Someone snickered in the crowd and the guy whipped around, eyes ablaze. The snickering culprit was impossible to detect though because he quickly gave up finding the culprit as a waste of effort and turned his attention back on me instead. "I'll kill you!"

He came at me, a fistful of flame in his hand. I jumped back, and just as I did a giant hand slapped the kid in the face, flooring him.

The giant hand was attached to a girl with short orange hair and a terrifying scowl.

"Monoma! What do you think you're doing, huh?!"

The copy kid, Monoma, spluttered on the floor. "I-itsuka! I- I mean…" he glanced at me and I gave a shit eating grin.

He frowned and jabbed a finger at me. "That bastard had it coming!"

The girl slapped him again. It gave off a meaty thwack! That made me flinch with sympathy. "You're always causing trouble!" She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and began dragging him away, kicking and screaming. Then she stopped and gave me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that… My classmates can be pretty difficult to deal with."

"Dont worry about it…" I said, sweatdropping.

* * *

I arrived at Momo's home with mouth agape. The boundary wall of her property was so long that standing at the entrance gate as I was and peering either side you couldn't make out the ends of the property. It just stretched out, as far as you could see. I rang the bell, which probably cost a lot more than I could fathom, and waited a moment. Momo's voice came from the little speaker system. "Izuku! I'm so glad you made it! I'm opening the gate for you now!"

The -massive- gates opened inward. Momo's house was so far away that it looked like a speck on the horizon. I started walking, and soon a black limousine pulled up.

"Terribly sorry that I wasn't awaiting you sir. Ms Yaoyorozu forgot to mention that you would be arriving today." A well dressed gentleman with a historic beard said from the driver's seat.

"Uhm, right. Don't worry about that, it's okay."

The chauffeur nodded once, then got out and helped me in, holding the door open for me. I resented that. It's like he assumed I couldn't open a door for myself. Well, I knew it was just the way they were trained but I still wasn't happy about it.

We pulled up to the speck on the horizon a few minutes later, and I was forced to revise my opinion. Momo didn't live in a house. No, she lived in the godzilla of mansions. Her house was bigger than the entire apartment block I lived in, for god's sake!

Momo was waiting at the entrance, stood in a dignified but welcoming stance. I had no illusions that it wasn't a posture practiced thousands of times before for visiting guests to the Yaoyorozu home but the giddy look on her face made it clear that she was very happy to have me over. She pulled me inside after a quick greeting, hauling me off through the lavish halls for ages until we came to a massive, cavernous room, chattering all the while.

"The study room!" she said happily, gesturing to the giant room we were stood in. There was a giant table cutting across the room, and I marveled at the giant of a tree that must have been felled to make it. I wanted to disagree with her, and say that there was no way something like this was a study room- but a neat little sign with study room printed neatly across affixed to the door backed her up.

"Its… Nice? Very nice?" I offered.

She clapped her hands together eagerly. "Thank you. Please, make yourself comfortable and I'll be back with some light refreshments."

"That's not…" she had already turned tail and walked away. "…Necessary." I ended, speaking to myself. I looked around the room some more, noticing just how extravagant it all was. I felt woefully under-dressed.

Well, Izuku you charming bastard, you've really got yourself in it now, I thought. What had been going through my head, agreeing to come here in the first place? I had no idea what I was doing here. Momo wanted to go over our duties as class representatives, but I still barely understood just what it was I needed to be doing. I still didn't want the job. But, well, it was too late for me to be complaining now.

With a sigh, I plopped into a seat. It was softer than I imagined it would be, and I bounced up and down a few times to test it. It was as though I were sitting on a marshmallow.

"What are you doing?" Momo asked. She was carrying a huge silver tray, perfectly balancing a silver teapot, a pair of delicate teacups and saucers and way too many muffins and treats to be considered a mere 'light refreshment', and certainly more than two teenagers could eat over a short meeting about class representatives.

"Those smell great. What are they?" I asked, pointing at the tray and completely avoiding the question. They also did smell great.

Momo smiled. She really looked amazing, dressed in a sundress. "These are just a few things I asked the chefs to whip up. Some muffins, cookies, croissants and desserts."

It was like she was slapping me in the face with her wealth.

She sat down next to me, dignified like and nothing like my earlier plopping. "So we're going over our class representative duties. What are your thoughts?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Honestly? I have no idea what I'm doing. I have no idea what a class representative is supposed to do. I've never been one before, and you guys sort of sprung the whole thing on me." I glared at her. "I think you were partly responsible for that somehow."

"Well, Inasa is the one who recommended you and I agreed with him. I thought you'd make a great class representative. The rest of the class agreed, and we voted on it. You should be happy about it, it means that the class has faith in your abilities."

I shook my head. "I dont see how being able to copy quirks makes me a viable candidate for class rep."

She blinked. "You think we wanted you because of your quirk? No. I think you have the perfect temperament and qualities for a class representative."

I actually laughed at the notion. "You're funnier than you look, Momo."

"I was being perfectly serious."

I laughed again. "And how, exactly, am I class rep material? I'm under no illusion of having an affable personality. I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing."

"You're already doing it. What you did when those journalists entered the school, what you did yesterday… That was exactly the sort of thing a great class representative would have done. Without you there… I don't know how yesterday would have gone. I definitely wasn't any help at all." She glanced away. Her eyes seemed watery, like she was struggling not to cry.

I hadn't been thinking about being a class rep when I did that. I'd just… I didn't even know exactly what I'd been thinking. I just knew that I wanted to get rid of those villains and make sure everyone was okay. I think I'd been running on autopilot. "You were helpful. Without you the others would have had no idea what to do, or where to go. You even administered first aid!"

She sniffed. "A few bandages isn't exactly first aid. While I was sitting tight you were fighting that Noumu and saving Mr. Aizawa. The whole thing was more your plan than mine anyway."

I put a hand on her shoulder. She startled, but didn't pull away, staring at my hand with a blush. "You did great, Momo. You're selling yourself short."

"Sure…" she said, and glanced away. She didn't seem convinced though.

I let it go though, I felt awkward enough with this situation as it was.

* * *

The sports festival was less than a week away. Why I thought this at five-thirty in the morning as I squatted a barbell was odd, but not all that strange seeing as how I think everyone at UA was thinking the same thing. We would be broadcast live all over the country, going head to head not only for recognition but even for our standings. Even students in the hero course weren't safe. If they did poorly enough their spots would be on the line and they would be tossed into the general studies course with the rest of the wannabes. Maybe that was too crude an observation, but it was still apt.

I sucked in a breath at the top of the movement, keeping the air in my belly tight and began squatting down. My legs quivered and shook but I made it all the way down then began the bounce at the bottom that would get me out of the hole.

"Heya Izuku!"

A voice shouted in my ear, a hand ripping off my brand new headphones. I gave a startled cry, then half-crumbled, half -side-stepped as the weight fell off my back, crashing onto the ground with a too loud thud. It barely missed my foot, just barely. A half inch back and my toes would have been crushed into a chunky paste.

I prepared to verbally and physically assault the person responsible, then deflated when I saw a beaming Hatsumei. She had on a gym tee, stretched too tight over the chest of course, but was still wearing her oil-stained work pants and didn't have a bead of sweat visible anywhere. She hadn't been working out, that was frustratingly clear. "Ugh. Mei. What do you want now?"

"It's my birthday today, you know. May 18th."

I blinked. "Happy birthday?"

She smiled wide. "Thank you. But that's not important right now. I wanted to show you something!"

I clenched my jaw. "I'm sort of in the middle of something right now, Mei." I gestured to the fallen weights.

"Oh, okay then. But meet me in the workshop when you're done. And hurry up!" So saying she all but skipped away.

I ground my teeth in frustration. She'd nearly crushed my foot and now she was leaving without a care in the world?

I still followed along though, finishing my workout and taking a hurried shower before making my way over to the support department. She was pretty difficult, but I couldn't deny that I was seeing great results in my training over the past few weeks and a lot of that was thanks to her help. I'd even made out real abs when I looked in the mirror the other morning! So if she said she had something she wanted to show me I'd take her word on it being helpful.

"You're here. Finally!" Hatsumei gestured for me to come in.

This early- about thirty minutes before students usually got to class- the support department was completely deserted and completely quiet. It actually felt relaxing. "Come on, come on, put it on already." Hatsumei said impatiently

"What are you talking about? You didn't tell me what I was here for."

She looked at me as though I were gravely stupid. "Your hero costume of course."

"You've finished it already?"

"Pretty much. There's just a few finishing touches I need to take care of. Now put it on already!" She said, handing me a bundle of clothing.

"Am I supposed to get dressed right here?" I asked, cheeks flushing.

She gestured to the empty room. "There's no one else here, right. And I'll look away if it'll make you feel better."

I sighed, then began unbuttoning my shirt. "… wish you could have told me that before I'd gotten dressed in my uniform…" I muttered. The bulk of the costume was a form fitting spandex-like material. Spandex-like because while it had the general texture of regular spandex it felt a little… off. The interesting part of the costume was the overshirt and over-sized toolbelt.

"Huh. Looks like you're actually putting on some muscle. You're still a beanpole though, even if you're a pretty one." Hatsumei said as she stared unashamedly at my only underwear-wearing form.

"Hatsumei!" I roared, holding the spandex protectively infront of myself. "I'm getting dressed here! Look away!"

She tutted but turned back around, leaving me in my shame.

I hurriedly pulled the suit on, it stuck to my body uncomfortably tight and made me feel really embarrassed and uncomfortable. "Why did you think white spandex was a good idea?" I asked, groaning at the color choice.

"You're going to be representing the first generation of Hatsumei Physical's experimental projects. I wanted to make sure that you came across as a pure, kind-hearted person. White is the color of purity, you know. And I had to overcorrect, since you act so churlish all the time."

So it was her way of getting back at me for acting like an asshole on occasion. Touche. And a lot more tame a revenge than it could have been. "And the red?" I asked as I pulled on the overshirt. It was thick and padded. Made to withstand more powerful blows, I guessed.

"That's because I also wanted you to look dangerous. Red is a dangerous colour. Blood is red, see?"

I'm not an idiot, is what I wanted to say. Instead I gave a stiff nod and pulled on the- also red- toolbelt. There were no less than twelve pouches on the thing and it felt ridiculously heavy. "What's in here?"

"That's the best part of the costume!" Mei said, then began grabbing at my new toolbelt. I held her back.

"Hey, I can take it out myself, okay? Just tell me what pouch to open and I'll open it. Don't you have any sense of propriety?"

"Oh, okay. Then open that one there, the pocket all the way to your left."

I did so and pulled out a little metal device. "This is-" I began

"A tracker." Mei finished before I could. "Just tag that onto a person or vehicle and you'll be able to locate them via gps to within a five-foot radius."

I nodded. "Ah. I get it now. I told you that any costume I wore would probably get in the way of quirk versatility so instead of focusing on the costume you instead focused on a toolbelt, so that I could get practice in with a set amount of tools and be proficient in their use no matter what quirks I have available."

Mei seemed flabbergasted. "That was… Actually sort of smart of you."

I frowned sourly and she laughed. "I'm just kidding with you. I know you're a smart guy. I checked your records multiple times."

A chill crept up my spine. "Uhm. Yeah… What else do you have for me in here? There must be some sort of smoke bomb or something, right?"

She beamed and tried to grab at my toolbelt again. Then she stopped, looking thoughtful. "Hey, Izuku. I was wondering, how would you like to become my guinea p-" She coughed. "I mean, how would you like to help me with my baby making? I need some help, now that the sports festival is so close. I want to put on a good showing."

She looked at me with a much too innocent expression, but I'd caught the slip. "No way." I said, adamant. I would not be in the paper as the shredded casualty of a half-baked science experiment.

All of a sudden she hugged me, her boobs pressing up against my side. I flushed. "Please, Izuku. Pleaaaaaaseeeeee…"

Well. I mean, it was sort of my fault that she didn't have as much time to prepare for the festival. She'd actually helped me out a lot with my training and eating plan. And beside that she must have spent a lot of time working on this new suit for me. "Okay. I'll…. I'll help you out."

She let go of me and gave a whoop! Throwing her hands in the air, which made her boobs do… pleasant things. I looked away, hiding my blush.

"I knew using my boobs would work on a closet pervert like you!" she announced.

"Hey!" I said, offended. "I'm not a closet pervert! That's it, I'm not helping you. You're insane!"

"Wait, wait!" She said as I headed for the door. "I thought of some new training for your quirk! If you help me out I'll tell you about it!"

I stopped. "… You better not be lying about that."

She put a hand on her heart. "Cross my heart and hope that you die."

I sighed. "That's not how it goes… I'm probably going to regret this later, if history has shown me anything."

* * *

"I hope you've all prepared well for the sports festival tomorrow." Aizawa said, looking me straight in the eyes as he did.

I got the message. Packing away my things, I stopped when Inasa tapped me on the shoulder. "Hmm?" I asked, wondering about the sudden hesitance by the usually rambunctious best friend.

"Lets meet up at the Katsudon place later, okay?"

I furrowed my brows. "Why not now?"

"It'll be too busy right now. I wanted to talk about something with you, without having people listening in."

I nodded. "Okay then. Text me the details, alright?"

"Well, I mean, we are still going home together so…"

I sighed. I thought he needed to leave for something. "Well then what was with asking me that now?"

He shrugged. "Hey, what's up with that giant backpack you've been wearing all week? I barely ever see you without that thing these days."

I grinned. The bag had been given to me by Hatsumei, and so it was completely and utterly hideous. A bright white with pink stripes- she said she was testing out a new color palette for me, but I think the pink was because I'd called one of her designs stupid- but the bag was so helpful that I was glad to wear it even looking like it did.

"That's a secret. But I'll tell you about it tonight if you want."

It was nearly seven that night when I met Inasa at the katsudon place. It was, like Inasa knew, my favorite food. Since Inasa liked pretty much everything he was happy with us going to get my favorite most of the time, so we'd already become regulars here. It was near enough to the school and the station that we could just stop there on our way home, but now I'd had to take another train back to get here.

The frustration of having to come out here so late at night- mom had thrown a fit, thinking I was meeting up with some girl for a date- was mitigated by the steamy, fresh off the grill katsudon that was waiting for me at my usual seat. I sat down beside Inasa and dug in without so much as a hello.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked after chowing down a few octopus balls and preparing to down another.

"The sports festival."

I stopped and looked at him. "What about it? I'm feeling pretty confident about it, if that's what you're asking. I still think Mei is crazy but she's definitely helped me get a lot stronger. I can't believe she figured out my quirk could-"

"No, no, that's not what I wanted to ask. I can see that much for myself, you're looking a lot more buff these days. Soon you'll be bigger than me!"

That was a stretch, but I still blushed with pride. "T-thanks. So, what did you want to talk about? You're keeping me in suspense here."

Inasa sighed. "Yeah. I guess I don't know how to say it."

"Use your mouth and vocal cords."

He laughed at my lame joke, hitting a fist on the table and getting a put-upon sigh from the katsudon chef. I made sure to always tip the man double whenever I visited with Inasa.

"Okay, here goes… I don't want you to hold back tomorrow. And I'm not going to hold back either." Inasa said, looking serious.

"You're losing me here buddy. What do you mean?"

"I mean, even though we're friends we're also rivals. I don't want you to hold back against me tomorrow because I'm not going to be holding back either. We're both trying to be the best, so we can't wear kid gloves against one another."

I sat quietly, shoveling a few more katsudon in as I thought about it. "… okay. Okay, I'll go all out. Tomorrow we're enemies, and when the show's over we'll come back here without any grudges, no matter what happens."

Inasa smiled and held out a hand. I shook it. "No regrets, no matter what."

We ate together in companiable silence, then I asked a question I'd been wondering about for a while. "Hey, Inasa? Why did you decide to be friends with me in the first place?"

Inasa laid down his chopsticks. "I was always awestruck by heroes. The passion they had… It just stuck with me. I thought to myself, if I could become a hero like that, someone who saved people with a fire in their heart that would be the greatest thing ever…"

I listened intently, putting down my chopsticks as well.

"But then, one day I had a chance to see one of those heroes in real life and he was nothing like I'd dreamed about. I asked for an autograph and he gave me the coldest look I had ever seen. He didn't even say a word to me, he just walked away as if I was nothing… I was just a kid. That hero was Endeavour."

Todoroki's father. That explained part of the resentment the two had for the other.

"And then, in the recommendations exam I got a chance to see Endeavour's son. I thought to myself that I couldn't judge the son for the sins of the father, so I made to introduce myself and I congratulated him on how well he'd been doing in the exam. And then he gave me that exact same look. It was like I was looking at a younger Endeavour. There's no way I could accept that someone like that would become a hero! I was so disgusted by the idea of being in the same school as someone like him that I planned to go right to the UA office and give up my position. But then I met you, and what you said to me made me realize that maybe even someone like Todoroki could change if they really wanted to. I think that if I had decided to give up on UA I would have regretted that decision for the rest of my life."

"So you decided to be my friend because of sympathy?"

"No, definitely not. I decided to be your friend because when you spoke to me I saw a flash of something in you that I wanted to see in Endeavour all those years ago. I saw a flash of a true hero."

* * *

My mom was crying and sniffling as she did my tie in the hallway. "Oh, you look so handsome Izuku…" I knew how to tie a tie, but she had insisted to do it this morning and I was happy to comply with whatever she wanted as long as it made her happy.

"Mom, don't cry."

She wailed louder. "But how can't I cry? When all the girls see how handsome you look on the television today they're all going to chase after you. Then you'll get married and leave me all alone!"

I sighed. This had been going on ever since Hatsumei had called. I cursed her name in my heart. "Mom, that's not going to happen anytime soon. And even when I get married- way, way in the future- I'll never leave you all alone. You're my mom, I'll always need you around."

She looked at me with doe-like watery eyes. "You promise?" she asked

"Yes mom, I promise." Just like I'd promised a thousand times this week alone.

She smiled, tears forgotten. "Then go to that sports festival and do your best. I'll be watching you from the tv!"

As a parent she could go up to the arena itself and watch the whole thing live but she'd said she couldn't handle watching me do dangerous stuff from the stands and not be able to do anything about it. It was okay though. I knew she'd be rooting for me regardless. "I'll make you proud, mom."

She smooched me on the cheek "I'm already proud of you, silly."

I opened the door, only to find Hatsumei with a glass. She'd been listening in on the conversation, clearly. I stared at her in disbelief and she stared back unabashedly. "… Were you listening from the door?" I asked unnecessarily

"Of course!" She admitted without hesitation. "It is vital that I receive as much information about my test subject and guinea pig's personal life as possible! It's the only way I can optimally tailor it's training and lifestyle for maximum health and vitality"

I frowned. "Did you just admit that I was a guinea pig? Wait-no, how does my personal life affect your '_plans_' anyway" I said that plans with air quotes.

"That's for the smart people to know and you to never find out."

"You're making it really hard for me to maintain a positive outlook on life, you know."

She clapped her hands together as we made our way down. "Oh, you didn't tell me you were working on your attitude as well! But now that you've brought it up I can see that it would be bad for Hatsumei Physical if their first project turned out to be a PR nightmare with a bad attitude. I'll start researching for a program to work on your personality asap."

I sighed. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not, and I was terribly afraid that she would actually follow through. "Fuck my life."

* * *

**And so that's the end of chapter 10 of Mimicry and over 50K words of meat and bones story. I'll savour that, even though people like Kenchi618 who have over a million words in one story and a half dozen other stories just as good and damn near as long. It's still a decent accomplishment, for me at least. I'll do my best to be more productive in future and make sure that the next 10 chapters are birthed faster than these were. **

**This chapter felt like it had a lot going on, or would it be more accurate to say that it felt very frazzled? As though things were happening too fast with too little notice of the passage of time? That's up for you to decide, and me to agonize over. Next chapter will begin the sports festival, which should in itself be finished up in about two chapters or so. Just a heads up, as the story progresses the divergence between canon will be great. Don't expect the same things that went down in canon to go down in the chapters to follow, don't expect that Izuku will be paired against or teamed up with the same people, for example. Why am I saying this now, after having a pretty boy narcissist Izuku cut off a hand from Tomura? I don't know. **

**Thanks so much for supporting this story, whether that be through your reviews, fav**orites or follows. They all mean a lot to me and keep me going.

_Your feedback is the artillery I use to wage war against the Nazis of the blank page, reviews are frag grenades, favorites are bullets and and follows are guns. Please keep me armed, or the Nazis win. Thank you!_


	11. Chapter 11

The air in the arena was tense. The spectators waited with baited breath, eager for the signal to start. In the passage the students set to entertain them were even more tense, barely breathing. The only light came from inside the stadium, barely enough for us to make out one another. We were crammed into this narrow concrete passage, anticipation frying our nerves as we were sizing one another up. The general studies classes seemed ravenous and desperate, like hungry wolves eager to make a kill. This was the only opportunity for any of them to move up from the general class and into the prestigious hero studies course, the course most of them were probably shooting for in the first place.

The business studies students didn't seem to be all that interested in the whole affair to be honest. They probably realized this wasn't really their show. They were here as token students and they knew it, there was no hope for any of them to make it into the latter stages or compete on a physical basis against any of the other courses.

Us hero course students were on edge. We felt like everyone else were gunning for us, trying to take us down and assume our spots. We were, I mean I was, pretty confident that I would do pretty well. There was a reason we were put into the hero course the first time round and as long as we didn't screw it up I really couldn't foresee anyone losing their spots.

The support department though… The support department were just being weird. But since Hatsumei was among the throng that was to be expected, even if I thought that she made the rest of the crazy inventor types seem positively tame in comparison. A lion in a den of house cats.

A gunshot rang out, accompanied by the lovely Midnight's voice blaring through the speakers. "And… Start!"

I immediately ran, a smile coming to my face when I noticed how much faster I was than I'd been during my entrance exam. I was definitely getting better, but I wasn't at the front of the pack though. I was barely pacing ahead of the middle of the pack. But almost everyone else was using quirks, and I wasn't. It was time to change that though.

Gritting my teeth in well-practiced pain, I grabbed at three quirks simultaneously and, like I had been secretly practicing for nearly a week in class now, I fused them together. A bulge grew on my back, pushing through my t-shirt. My tracksuit top had been tightened around my waist in preparation for this- new tracksuits were expensive. It grew and grew, slower than a normal quirk would have if I'd copied it.

But this was a whole lot more complex than just mimicking a quirk wholesale. It was almost like creating an entirely new quirk while using others as a base— I still couldn't believe Hatsumei had managed to think of something like this. I'd already been altering the quirks I copied, either subconsciously or inadvertently, since I'd gotten it. And if it was possible for the quirks I copied to be altered and modified by my own without conscious thought, if I could actually direct it, modify and combine quirks at will…

I would end up with something like this.

A jetpack engine was attached to, and grown from, my back. Ready to fire at a single mental command, this was the first combination-quirk I'd ever used. I still couldn't use this newly discovered aspect of my quirk with impunity, but with a week of practice in class and hundreds of failed attempts hidden beneath an oversized backpack given by Hatsumei, I'd managed to finally combine Inasa, Bakugou and Iida's quirks to create a jetpack that could not only provide me with enough thrust to literally fly off into the air but also looked really badass. Which was an important factor, of course.

I plucked an enhanced hearing quirk from the surrounding students, probably one of the general studies or business course students, and focused my hearing for the commentary box. It was always a good idea to get a better view of the playing field than your competitors and since only the spectators on television and in the stands _should have_ been able to hear Present Mic's spectator broadcast it definitely gave me an advantage over the competition.

"It looks as though three of the 1A students have already reached the first obstacle… Giant Robots! These massive robots are powerful enough to take down real villai- WHAT THE?! Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki Shouto, son of the No. 2 hero Endeavour has just frozen an entire robot in a giant block of ice! And he did it in a moment, he hasn't even paused to slow down!"

KABLAM-BLAM-BLAM!

The trio of explosions following Present Mic's announcement lit up my vision and made my ears ring. Present Mic's voice came distorted and incoherent. Another, nearly as loud roar followed soon after the explosion.

"You think I'll let you show me up, you half-and-half bastard?!"

I had made it close enough now that I could see the remains of Todoroki's iced-over robot, now turned into metallic smatterings. Nuts, bolts and shredded metal lay scattered and smeared across the ground as testament to the power of Bakugou's explosive blasts. More robots waited nearby but they seemed almost terrified of going against the furious Bakugou, who blitzed pass them all with a cacophony of explosions.

Inasa too, I noted, was nowhere to be seen. Which was unusual, because Inasa was not a difficult person to spot and which meant that he had gotten through the robots as well, in a less flashy manner than the other two had. He hadn't been joking around when he said that he would be going all out for this exam. I wondered if he was leading?

Shit. This wasn't the time for wondering. This was the time to show just how much better I'd gotten since I'd entered UA. "Boost, on." I whispered as the- _my_\- jet engines roared to life. It wasn't, truthfully, at all necessary for me to say anything at all to power them. I just thought it sounded cool when I did.

Two students who'd been looking at me with suspicion as they ran alongside me both jumped to the side as my engines blasted off, shooting a stream of flame and wind. Almost instantly I went from the middle of the pack to the crowd of giant robots. Some students from my class were already starting to fight the robots the leading trio had left behind, Kaminari letting loose a surge of electricity short-circuiting one of the army-surplus colored green robots. There were a few students from 1B as well. I recognized one of the girl's from the recommendation exam, the body-part girl.

I paid them no mind though as I blitzed over and by them, ignoring the robots completely. One of the green robots had actually tried to swipe at me but by now I was moving so fast that he'd had no hope of even coming close. In a few seconds I had gone up over a hundred places to steal fourth position, and my jetpacks were still capable of going even faster. Bakugou's quirk was already propellant enough without being added to like I'd done.

"Whooo!" I yelled in excitement, my stomach doing turns. It was a rush like a roller coaster from hell. I'd never had enough space or time with this new tri-quirk to actually test it out for real. A few seconds snagged when nobody would notice me was all I'd had before one of the three had gotten out of range. I was definitely going to be using this combo more often.

I saw the three pack leaders, far ahead of the rest of the runners. The first place position seemed to be constantly shifting, Inasa leading one moment then being passed by Bakugou shooting explosions to move forward or Todoroki gracefully surfing on an ice sheet of his own making. They were definitely pushing as hard as they could. Sweat dripping from their brows, huge gasps of air propelling them forward as they panted and heaved. Time to make them feel inadequate in comparison.

I slowed down somewhat and flew lower, just clipping the side of Bakugou's uniform. He jerked to the side, ready to respond with force, and I shoved a middle finger in his face. "Take this, asshole." I said, loud enough for him to hear.

He growled but before a move could be made I was off again, blasting by them with ease. They were fast, really fast, but as far as pure speed went none could compete with a miniature jet engine propelled, admittedly pretty skinny teen. I was smoking them, and it felt fucking great. Flight on its own was overpowered, rocket propelled flight was a cheat in comparison.

My only problem was that I was too fast, way too fast. I had to stop twice during my overwhelming lead or risk losing all three quirks at once and falling in a broken boned lump to the ground. Also, using those quirks like this was extremely painful, the heat and force generated after continuous use permeated through the nerve-less engines and into the very much nerve-central spine. With more practice using this combination I could make it so that the heat shielding was thick and strong enough for continuous use, but right now this was the best I could do.

I was still far, far ahead though. I'd already passed over a canyon covered by a rope, which wasn't exactly how the examiners must have expected anyone to pass by but definitely was a lot better on my health than falling into a canyon because of my terrible sense of balance would be. Granted, I _did_ almost fall in anyway but that was because one of the three had suddenly ran back, causing the tri-quirk to break down. Thankfully by that point I'd been high enough over the thing that liberal application of wind manipulation could help me glide over, if barely. The explosion quirk- because of course it was Bakugou- quickly came back in range though, and I wondered if the damned blonde had actually been trying to kill me.

Looking back, I spat a curse. Bakugou was already more than halfway over the canyon, rocketing forward by using his explosions like I'd used my jetpacks to easily fly across, ignoring the criss-crossing web-like ropes entirely. Inasa was right behind him, maybe a second or two back. Bakugou must have deliberately been testing the range of my quirk by running back, waiting and watching until I'd lost his quirk and then rocketing forward while I still had to re-combine the three quirks and remake it from scratch. How he'd even known that I was using his quirk was a mystery to me, that he had already managed to breakdown my new ability was astounding.

"Fuck." I muttered.

Todoroki didn't have as easy a time of it since he couldn't actually fly like Inasa and I could- because what Bakugou did could not be called flight by any reasonable, intelligent human being- but even he was making good time, gliding across the ropes with his ice. I wanted to call bullshit on that, too. How could ice manipulation do something like that? Let him surf around stuff like that?

Though, I guess that was sort of hypocritical, coming from me. Whatever.

I _had_ been underestimating the others though. The moments I'd had to pause and the slower glide across the gap had given them enough time to come this close to catching up.

They wouldn't be getting any closer though.

As I stood on the other side of the rope-webbed gap the jetpack began streaming again, ready to fire. I smirked and waved at the incoming Bakugou and Inasa, now so close that I could see their facial expressions contort at the gesture- Bakugou furious, Inasa grinning- before I was off again, going so fast that the top tied across my waist nearly blew off.

I passed over a mine field, the pockmarked earth had probably been intended to be a channeling point, a place where the faster students would have to slow down to be careful and the laggards could catch up by traveling along worn paths. It would certainly make for more interesting spectating. Or would have.

Flight tended to mess with the dynamic.

I heard the crowd roar as I passed the finish line, uncontested. I waited at the finish, grinning self-satisfyingly. It was a few minutes more before I even made out Inasa. Bakugou was visible a few moments later, though I'd heard his explosions coming on far before I'd seen him. He wasn't very discrete, Bakugou.

When he had finally managed to fly over the land-mined area to snatch second place Inasa didn't seem disappointed at all.

"Looks like I take the lead, Inasa. Is that a 1-0 in my favor or do we count positions too?" I teased.

Inasa grinned, barely winded. "I think we'll call this your point advantage. Don't count on keeping it come next round! Nice quirk though. Someone in the stands?"

"Nope. New combo I've been working on. Your quirk, Bakugou's and Iida's fused together, is the best way I can explain it. Thankfully you three were far ahead enough that I could keep you in range, even if Bakugou dropped back before that valley."

Inasa blinked. "Is that why he ran back all of a sudden… Wait, your quirk can do that?"

"Yeah. Well, I mean, I only realized it could a few weeks back. Hatsumei came up with the idea actually."

Inasa smiled smugly. "And you said you never wanted anything to do with her."

"Shut uuuup."

* * *

Midnight, the dominatrix heroine, was dressed in a leather dominatrix getup and had a riding crop in hand. She would also occasionally lick her lips slowly and seductively, and I wondered, just what sort of show was UA trying to give the viewers at home?

"Good job everyone. The next round will be decided completely at random." Midnight said, her voice coming off sultry without any effort on her part.

Yeah, right. I'd experienced UA's 'complete random' before.

Midnight pointed her riding crop at a vaguely round object covered by a white cloth and pulled it off in dramatic fashion. "With this!"

It was one of those game-show wheels, the sort that you'd spin in hopes of winning a car but that would always have you end up with a keychain or something.

Instead of prizes though were different competitions, sprints and team fights and many other sports events. She spun the wheel, perhaps showing off a bit more cleavage than tv regulations allowed at this viewing hour in the process.

"Cavalry Battle! You are all to split into teams of two to four, with each of you needing to remain in contact with at least one other teammate at all times! You are not allowed to deliberately remove teammates from one another, and if a team loses contact they are still able to compete until the clock runs out- but they will have to get in contact with each other or any headbands they receive during that time will be considered null and void and they may risk disqualification. You'll have fifteen minutes to choose partners."

Damn. Who should I choose? I barely knew most of the other first year students, even if I recognized a few of their quirks from lunch period in the cafeteria I couldn't exactly go up to them and say that I wanted them to join me because I liked the way their quirk felt could I? That was way too awkward. Or… Maybe I could.

I was pretty well-known, even if I wasn't all that happy about it. I was sure that anyone I decided to approach would be pretty happy to join my team.

No. I think I'd stick with my own classmates. I was a lot more familiar with their quirks, had broken them down pretty well and I think I was on at least somewhat good terms with all of them. They were also the best, in my opinion, so that was a contributing factor.

"One more thing… Each of you will be given a headband with a certain amount of points. The higher you placed in the first test the greater the points you'll be awarded, in five point increments increasing from last place all the way up... With one special exception…"

My stomach dropped uneasily.

"The person who came in first place will be given a headband worth 4 million points."

Instantly it felt like everyone's eyes were on me. "Fuck." I muttered. I think Midnight must have heard me because she smirked slightly.

"The total points given to each of the top students will be much higher than the rest, which you'll be able to see on the scoreboard overhead. Your fifteen minutes to find teammates starts… now!"

People started rushing about, quickly trying to find their friends or join up with some of the stronger students.

They all avoided me like the plague though. But of course they would. It didn't matter that I was pretty strong, with a headband worth more than the rest combined I would be a sure target, everyone would be coming after me from the get go.

A panic started to rise in my chest. If I didn't find any people to join my team would I be immediately disqualified? Would they give me the dregs of UA instead, the students who were so terrible that no one else wanted them? I couldn't ask Inasa either. We were rivals today, it wouldn't be fair of me to drag him down with me.

Hatsumei, I thought. It was easy enough to spot her, bright pink hair, generous figure, openly displaying her inventions and shouting to the crowd. If I could get anyone to join it would be her, we'd spent enough time together in the past few weeks that I could say for sure we were friends, even if I did regret the fact more often than not.

"Hey, Hatsumei, want to join my team? I could really use the help." I half begged.

Hatsumei, holding aloft the rocket boots she'd planned to show off, stared at me. "Hmm, nope." She said nonchalantly, looking away to continue her peddling "A marvel of engineering, these boots are designed to-!"

I grabbed her shoulder. "Are you seriously trying to pimp your inventions right now?"

"Of course I am. It's a fantastic opportunity. The UA sports festival is one of the most-viewed sports events in Japan, there will be millions of people watching this, and word of the amazing Hatsumei Mei will spread throughout the land!"

I slapped a hand to my head. "Forget that. Even if I'm on the fence about whether or not a school tournament is the best time to be concerned about exposure. Why don't you want to join my team? Is it about the points?"

"Us inventors need to supplement our creative skill with fiscal responsibilities, lest our inventing get hamstrung with petty concerns like acquiring food or water. And I'm not worried about the points at all. If I join your team I wont get a chance to show off how great my babies are. If I join your team and we do well everyone will say it's because of your quirk, and if we do badly it will put my skills in a negative light."

"Are you trying to say that you think I'll do poorly?" I asked her, a little hurt that she didn't want to help me out.

"Without question." she replied nonchalantly, returning to call out the myriad features of her rocket powered boots.

I left the area immediately, before I exploded in a fit of rage.

Momo walked up to me as I stewed, watching my options close as everyone else, it seemed, continued partnering up.

"Hey, Izuku. Would you mind if I joined your team?" Momo politely asked, hands held together cutely.

My shoulders fell and I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'd be very grateful if you did. Thank you, I appreciate the help. But why would you want to join me anyway? You'd have a far greater chance of passing the test if you joined another team. Not that I don't want you!"

Momo seemed to blush. A trick of the light perhaps. "I just thought you could use a hand, so I wanted to help out. Besides, I believe you can pass this test, so it's not as though I think I'll be throwing away my chances of getting to the next round."

I frowned suddenly, before I could thank her again, sensing a quirk very close by.

Momo's brows raised. "Is something wrong, perhaps?" She asked, biting her lip.

"I sense someone standing right beside you. But I dont-"

Both Momo and I looked down at the same time, seeing a boy barely tall enough to reach above my waist with purple balls attached to his head in place of hair. He was crouched low and blatantly staring up Momo's- admittedly- short skirt with an expression of perverse delight.

Momo yelped and leapt away, closing her legs and holding onto her skirt tightly. She looked to be on the verge of tears. At that moment Jirou popped out of nowhere to hug her, patting her comfortingly on the back, as if she'd been conjured out of thin air.

After their harrowing experience together in USJ the two had become bosom friends, they were all but joined at the hip.

Meanwhile I rushed forward and, before he could get away, lifted the little pervert up with my two right arms, one newly minted courtesy of a nearby Shouji. He looked appropriately panicked, but also really, really smug. So smug that I gave him a shake for good measure.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He yelped. "But it wasn't my fault!"

I glared at him, and tightened my hold on his shirt collar, raising my free arm threateningly to his face. "How exactly do you explain that away as not being your fault? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

He waved his hands frantically. "It wasn't! She tempted me, you see!"

I stood, for a moment, in disbelieving awe at this bastard's audacity. "It's not the fault of the jewels in the jewelry store if they tempt the thief. It's the fault of the thief for breaking into the store and taking something that doesn't belong to him in the first place! Maybe I should knock some sense into you?"

He spluttered. "B-but even you have to admit that someone shouldn't just go waving jewels around in front of a jewelry thief! That's cruel and unusual punishment! And the jewelry thief didn't even try taking the jewels, he just wanted to take a close appraisal, is all!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're taking that jewelry analogy too far."

I prepared to hit him as he wiggled about in my grip but he yelped out and Momo grabbed my hand.

"L-let him go, Mr Izuku."

I turned to face her. "Shouldn't you be more upset at him then I am? Then why are you trying to stop me?"

"It's wrong to hurt people, even if they're wrong."

"If you don't discipline them appropriately how are they supposed to learn?" I countered.

"Yep. He's right, Momo." Jirou agreed, bobbing her head.

"J-just let him go, please. Besides, this isn't the time for that sort of thing."

She was right, of course. I needed to be looking for teammates, not bothering with this little bastard.

"Tch." I tutted and dropped the ball-headed kid from my grasp. He landed with an '_oof_'. When you were that little even a small drop like that must have been difficult to handle, I guess.

Then I looked at Jirou. From what I'd seen from her in USJ and in classes she was actually rather capable. Her quirk could be used offensively, by amplifying the sound of her heartbeat to ridiculous degrees she could produce sound waves that could shove opponents back, toss around objects and reduce eardrums to bleeding. If she could amplify sound so that it became a deterrent against the students who wanted at me or reduce their performance - it was difficult to work at your best when your ears were throbbing- that would be an amazing help.

Hope rising in my chest, I looked at her earnestly. "Hey Jirou, w-"

"No way, man." she said and walked away at the same time, not even waiting for me to finish.

My ears drooped. "Damn it. How am I supposed to get people to join? At this rate I won't have enough teammates to stand a chance."

A hand tugged at my shirt. "Hey, hey, let me join."

I looked down. That pervert kid was looking up at me, an expression of delight on his face. I could tell why he wanted to join my team already.

"Not in this lifetime, kid."

"I think you should let him join, Izuku. We need as much help as we can get."

I stared at her blankly. "... You do know why he wants to join right?"

Momo scrunched her face in thought. "Well, he must be having trouble getting teammates as well?"

"Hey, don't make it seem as if nobody wanted me on their team for some reason!" The boy complained.

Mono bowed slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to question your ability."

This girl... She should be questioning his character instead.

He grinned up at her. "That's right. I'm the toughest guy around. You should just forget about this emo-looking guy already!"

Emo, huh? I leaned down and spoke in his ear, soft enough that only he could hear. "I'll break your neck. Midget."

He paled. Standing back up, I spoke more loudly. "Okay, you can join. But I'll be watching you carefully, got it?"

"Yes!" He roared, fist in the air.

There were three of us now, and while that was a lot better than nothing there would still only really be one heavy hitter on the team. I couldn't go up against everyone alone.

There were only about five minutes left now though. I was beyond desperate. Every time I saw someone walking alone I would approach. "Hey, join my team."

"No, sorry." They would inevitably reply.

Then a voice, a powerful, eager, light in my sea of dark despair, voice called out. "Izuku! Where are you!"

The voice belonged to Inasa. With that startling lack of propriety there was no question. I scanned the crowd and found him almost immediately. With wind-powered steps we leapt forward and through the throng.

"Hey, do you have a free spot on your team I could take?" he asked, scratching his head.

A smile came to my face unaided. I was under no illusion that his asking me was anything other than because he wanted to help me out of a tight spot. "Thanks, Inasa." I said, touched.

He beamed back.

"But, I thought we'd agreed to be rivals for this tournament? Doesn't this sort of defeat the point?"

"You're my best friend. If you need help I'll be there, No matter what." He held out a hand.

I shook it firmly. "Okay, we've got all the firepower we need. Now we just need to come up with a plan..."

"Hey, where's the rest of your team then? It's not just you, is it?"

"No, Momo and some little pervert are in too. I must have lost them when I was looking around... huh. I didn't even notice."

Inasa looked vaguely panicked. "What? We need to find them then! What if they're lost!"

"You're being overdramatic again Inasa. Don't worry, I'll find them, No problem."

I took a deep breath, readying myself. Actively feeling for the edges of my quirk field, I focused on pushing it out. I'd recently been playing around with my range and had success expanding it outward by nearly half again as wide.

Not that I hadn't tried before, of course. But until I'd desperately pushed it out when the journalists had rushed onto the school grounds I'd never had any success. My range had seemed fixed, an indelible, immutable part of my quirk. Now my range was bigger. There were drawbacks to this seeming improvement though.

I opened my eyes and pointed left. "They're over there, about fifty meters away."

Inasa looked surprised. "You can tell that much? ...Your quirk is getting really scary, Izuku. Can you use more stuff like that jetpack you used back there too?"

I grinned teasingly. "Don't go thinking that I'll give you all my secrets now just because you're helping me this round. We're still fighting next round, you know."

Inasa gave me a playful slap on the shoulder. "Get ready to lose then!" He laughed.

* * *

My headband, worth more points than the total of every other competitor in this stage combined, fluttered from my head.

With Inasa, Momo and the little pervert's point total added to it the accursed thing would be even more attractive to the other teams, as if they needed more incentive to attack already.

Their hungry eyes hadn't stilled once since Midnight's announcement. They were, if anything, even heavier.

"So, have you thought of any way we could avoid the other teams for the duration of the test?"

Momo asked. She had seemed pretty confident when she asked to join but with all the attention we were receiving from competing teams her faith was, understandably, beginning to waiver.

Mineta, the little pervert, exclaimed in agreement whilst slyly ogling Momo's backside.

"Yeah, what are you planning to do? I won't have you ruining my reputation with some crappy plan!"

I clenched my jaw. The little bastard was skilled enough at ruining his own reputation that I don't think I could have made things any worse for him. "No. I'm not going to run around like a coward. They won't make me do that. We're going on the offensive."

Mineta made a strangling noise. Like a mouse who'd just caught sight of a great, big hawk swooping down at him. "W-what? But everyone is out to get you! There's no way you can fight them all!"

"Watch me." I replied stubbornly.

Inasa laid a hand on my shoulder. "What's our plan of attack then?"

Momo looked uneasy, rubbing her shoulders awkwardly. Mineta was complaining- loudly- about his poor fate and calling me a bunch of names at the same time. He was also pausing to peep at nearby girls. The kid was just ridiculous.

Shaking my head, I pointed at Momo. She took a step back at the attention.

"Momo, I'm going to need you to make something big. I've been working around the support classes since the festival was announced and I think I have an idea for something we can use to move around the field securely."

She nodded and thoughtfully made a large sheet of paper and an already sharpened pencil that she pulled from under her shirt. Mineta was stunned silent after catching a flash of her toned stomach. He seemed to be half drooling.

"Thanks." I said, and began rapidly sketching out a familiar design. My analysis books were quickly proving to be a fantastic investment.

When she saw the schematics Momo blinked in surprise. "That's… Really big."

"Well, I mean, it's not really that big is it?" I asked hopefully.

"It's too big for me to create all at once… But you've already planned for that it seems."

"Yes, you'll produce the platform and hydraulic legs separately then we'll assemble the whole thing together." I nodded.

A limiting factor of Momo's quirk lied in the fact that she was only able to produce objects directly from her skin. That meant, naturally, that she could only make things that were narrower than she was.

Alternatively she could increase her own surface area by pigging out but I'd immediately shot down that mental idea as being laughably impractical for a hero and also really off putting and upsetting. It would be tragedy for a girl as pretty as Momo to look like one of those competitive eaters or lumbering sumo wrestlers.

And so, in great part thanks to being forced into the role of unwitting Igor to Mei's Doctor Frankenstein I had taken some of my newfound, if rather basic, understanding of mechanical engineering to come up with several designs that could be created and assembled as parts. Parts narrow enough for Momo or myself to produce, once I'd gotten skilled enough in the use of _creation_.

"It's going to take a lot of time to make all of this…" Momo said skeptically.

"We'll keep the teams away until you've finished." I encouraged.

"… and I'll have to be shirtless to have the amount of skin necessary exposed." She whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear.

I blushed bright red. "I- I'll keep you covered with a blanket. If that's okay with you!" I half-shouted, half-laughed the final line.

For her part Momo seemed to be just as embarrassed about the thing as I was, which didn't make all that much sense to me. After seeing what her hero costume looked like I'd thought she must not have a shameful bone in her body. It was another testament to the fact that I was still far from understanding the mind of a woman.

"… Okay." She quietly agreed.

"Inasa, would you be able to hold off any team from getting close for about five minutes or so?" I asked, happy to have any excuse not to interact with Momo until my face returned to it's normal hue.

Inasa looked troubled. "Five? I really don't know Izuku… If these were regular student's there wouldn't be a problem but Bakugou and Todoroki… Those two have enough firepower that I won't be able to hold them back for any considerable length of time. I'm not sure about some of the other student's either. UA is the best of the best, after all."

There was an impressed twang when finishing off about how impressive our school was that I found annoying.

Shit. Five minutes already seemed to be pushing it a bit. Momo needed to make each larger section of the platform separately and then I needed to help her assemble, five minutes was ridiculously optimistic. If we couldn't get even that…

"Three minutes." Momo interrupted. "Give me three minutes and I'll have the hydraulic platform built."

I stared at her. "Are you sure? Three minutes… That's really optimistic, don't you think?"

"I can do it. Trust me."

Nodding, I then stared at the lone non-1A member of the team. "You…"

"I want to help Momo!" He said eagerly.

"No." Momo and I said simultaneously, then blushed, avoiding the other's gaze. I coughed.

"Anyway, you don't have any experience with engineering so you won't be much help. I'm the only one on the team who can help Momo out. Inasa is going to be needing any help we can spare."

Not that I thought his quirk could be much help.

The short, ball-headed boy glared at me. "And how would you know if I have any engineering experience? Are you looking down on me?"

"Literally, yes." He was more than two heads shorter than I was, after all. "But I know you're in the general studies course and not the support course, that gives me a clue about your skill with engineering."

Mineta frowned. "Well… Okay. But only until that machine of yours is finished!"

I sighed. "Yeah, whatever."

Had Mineta heard that Momo would be shirtless for the operation he wouldn't be nearly as compliant. I should consider it a victory, all things considered.

* * *

**And with this chapter all my late uploads are forgiven... right? Okay, maybe not. But I will be uploading the next chapter on time at least, considering that I've already got the first draft of it about 75% done. Chapter 12, as I've said, will be released in two weeks on Sunday, just as I kept telling myself every chapter thus far would be.**

**But, to the commentary on this chapter, let me address the gigantic, radioactive lizard in the room. Yes, I changed the rules of the cavalry battle. I'm sorry. But if I have no artistic license to re-interpret things I feel stifled. Hopefully you'll consider that it was, if not a good idea, then at least not a terrible one when the next chapter comes around and you get to see the different from canon action scenes.**

**The first round was also very much condensed. I'm trying to find a balance between writing scenes that keep you entertained and that flow quickly without becoming too rapid snapshots that leave you seeing stars and not knowing just what the heck is going on. I haven't found the goldilocks zone yet though, but I'm trying.**

**Then there's the quirk combination thing... Well, it was planned from the beginning and not just pulled from my ass to make Izuku more badass for no reason. It was foreshadowed by the backpack in the previous chapter and the modification to quirks was alluded to in the very first chapter, when Izuku took a leathery, bat like pair of wings and grew angelic feathered ones. It was also alluded to in the stream of thought moment he had when writing in his notebook in one of the cafeteria scenes, and several other comparatively minor instances all throughout. Conscious direction of quirk mutations is something that he will be taking advantage of in the future. It is also why the story is called Mimicry and not Replicate or Copy+Paste. Both names that I like, because I'm weird and have odd naming sense, but don't exactly fit this story.**

**Mineta was tossed into this chapter on recommendation from one of the amazing readers of the story and I feel that the interactions with him greatly added to the dynamic of this chapter and especially the next.**

**The platform Izuku is planning to build will allow the team to move about the 'field' without having to be too bothered about remaining in contact, since they can remain standing in place with their shoulders touching and so better respond and attack/defend. That is a significant advantage.**

_Your feedback is the artillery I use to wage war against the Nazis of the blank page, reviews are frag grenades, favorites are bullets and follows are guns. Please keep me armed, or the Nazis win. Thank you!_


	12. Chapter 12

One of the tricky parts of UA's cavalry battle was that our esteemed, batshit insane teachers had decided that it would be a tremendous idea to have the participating teams bound at the hip. Or arm. Or just any limb so long as you were somehow joined together in a non-sexual manner.

This meant that the teams had, by virtue of design, been forced to stand atop one another in Voltron reminiscent agglomerations of humanity. The leaders and designated point bearers had all been turned into the 'heads' of their cavalries, the largest and strongest members had been made the legs, sometimes paired in twos or threes to make the task less burdensome.

One poor bastard from what I thought was the general studies course had been made to hold aloft all three of his teammates, including a corpulent fellow with a taste for junk food and candy who ate from a bag of crisps even while being heaved into position.

The metaphorical arms, if their were any, were usually taken up by the artillery of the group, the heavy hitters whose quirks made them more offensive focused. Now these folk didn't really have to form themselves into a squishy robot but the formations turned out, by necessity, to be rather awkward and uncomfortable.

Our decided formation was even more awkward and uncomfortable though. As soon as the call to start the cavalry battle had gone out Momo had slipped off her shirt while I covered her with a blanket of my own making, blushing like crazy.  
Mineta, still blissfully unaware of Momo's undress, was tied with rope to Inasa's back under the pretense that until the platform was completed he'd be our lookout and have his arms free to attack if necessary. Inasa was floating under his own power above my and Momo's heads, tethered tentatively by a protruding limb grown from my back. Another awkwardly placed limb grew from my chest to hold onto Momo's shoulder as she worked to build the hydraulic platform that would give us an edge in the competition - if it could be completed that is.

"How far along is that platform, Izuku?" Inasa called from above.

I counted out the loosely piled materials Momo was swiftly making. "I'd say about just over thirty percent of the way. The bulk of the platform is done, it's just the hydraulic legs and control components that still need making."

Groaning, Inasa replied. "I know you guys are moving as fast as you can right now, but is there any way you can speed it up some?"

I glanced at the rapidly spinning wall of wind that surrounded us. We were surrounded by a tornado, controlled and directed by Inasa. "I don't know, you seem to be handling things pretty well."

"He's a monster! A monster!" Mineta yelled. I ignored the token member.

"Right now I'm keeping it stable but they keep blasting attacks at it, and it's hard enough mantaining something this large without explosions being launched at it. I'm not sure I can keep it up much longer." Inasa sounded strained.

Sure enough the powerfully rushing wall suddenly bubbled in as a strong force collided with it from outside. The wall of air was so thick and moving so fast that we couldn't see outside but if I were to guess the attacks giving Inasa the most trouble would probably be coming from either- or both- Todoroki and Bakugou.  
"Shit..." I muttered.

Above Inasa strained, grunting, and the wall of wind regained it's shape.

"Just try holding out for as long as you can Inasa. If they manage to breakthrough before the platform is completed we'll be sitting ducks."

"I'll do my best, Izuku."

"Hey, hey, what should I do?" Mineta asked

"You just sit tight. If you see any suspicious activity let me know." I replied.

I could feel Momo's shoulder start to shake. She had just managed to complete the first of the metal legs and it seemed the project was taking a lot out of her. The amount of energy required to make something like this was no joke, and to be forced to produce it in these conditions with the threat of attacking students and a place in the next round at stake, that was really difficult. Picturing a system as complex as this one and then recreating it would be tough enough if you had all the time in the world, doing it like this was something I couldn't imagine being capable of for a long time yet.

"You're doing great, Momo." I encouraged.

She nodded slightly, too focused and drained to answer directly. The next leg fell, clanking, to the ground. Then the next. And the next. Just two and a half minutes after the start of the test and the last component was being made. The walls of Inasa's centred tornado were beginning to thin, undulating wildly. Inasa too had gone radio silent. When the control unit fell and Momo gave a sigh in relief I immediately set to work, my 'cavalry limbs' joining our team lengthening with but a thought so that my arms could be free to begin assembling without breaking the 'contact with a teammate at all times' rule.

Moments later Momo joined me, sporting a newly formed halter top to replace the blanket I'd draped over her. Hands a blur of movement we slotted the parts together, each worrying at stages about whether or not the pieces would fit together at all and amazed all over again when they did. Then, just before the final part was joined the wall finally gave, bursting outward with all the strength of a mild breeze. The horde of cavalry teams were now visible, and there were a lot of them. And they were all eagerly looking at the headband tied around my bicep.

"Hop on!" I commanded, the hydraulic platform creaking to life.

A large, square, metal platform shaped like honeycomb stood atop four hydraulic legs each about as tall as our perverted teammate. A single joystick was attached to the barebones control panel, it's only company a few colored but unmarked switches. A hydraulic motor supplied power to each of the legs and was attached beneath the platform, just below- and connected directly to- the control panel.

I fished in my pockets and pulled out an energy bar, handing it to Momo. "Here," I said "Eat up then control the platform." That she already knew what each of the buttons were for was a given. She built the thing after all.

Nodding gratefully, and with a tinge of red rising in her cheeks, Momo accepted. Her face was covered in sweat and her breath was laboured.

The madly rushing cavalry teams suddenly parted to either side. Was this some sort of pre-planned tactical maneuver? Just then jagged ice spikes rushed forward in the recently evacuated area, headed straight for us. Inasa was still too out of it from the breaking of his tornado to respond and I was still assimilating the quirks I'd chosen to copy and so incapable of responding.

Then, as it neared, the jagged wall of ice exploded into shaved iceTXX. "The copycat is my kill, you pathetic nothings! Stay in the background like the nameless, faceless side-characters you are!" Bakugou yelled.

"Our kill, our kill. We're a team, you know." Eijiro chided from beneath Bakugou as the spiky blonde was held aloft, almost foaming at the mouth.

Todoroki, riding a second wave of ice, scoffed. "Whether you claim it or not doesn't matter. That headband will be mine."

Bakugou narrowed his eyes, glimpsing sideways at me then fixing his gaze on Todoroki. "Eijiro. We're dealing with this half and half bastard first. It's not like the copycat is going anywhere on that tincan."

Eijiro grinned. "Whatever. Not like I could change your mind anyway. Let's have fun while we're at it."

Tokoyami frowned from Todoroki's side. "... We'll have to deal with this quickly Todoroki."

"We don't have any other option. With Bakugou here we won't have a clean shot at the headband anyway. Whether or not Izuku will be able to hold them off or not we'll be back for it as soon as we get this out of the way."

"What should we do about those two, Izuku?" Inasa asked

I glanced at Bakugou and Todoroki, moving away from the other teams to do battle. "Ignore them until they get in the way. We can't be bothered dealing with them, we need to be going on the offensive."

I swept an oversized, mutated arm in a wide arc in the direction of the largest mass of people. A wave of air was emitted from around my hand, increasing in size as it swept forward. It was damn near invisible, as air tended to be, and so very few people moved out of the way. The unmoving majority were blasted back and off their feet, thrown to the ground and knocked out off formation. With that single move I had downed, even if temporarily, at least fifty students. Another sweep of my arm and dozens more fell. I repeated it again and again, some of the teams had wizened up and were running away from me, the more stubborn dug in their heels and used their quirks or tools to keep them grounded.

"It's only fair that I show what I can do too, right?" Inasa said, holding his arm up, palm to the sky.

Streams of air distorted the light, dozens and hundreds of them twirling all at once in fantastical patterns and arrangements. It looked almost as though the air was dancing. Then they made for teams and, without any warning, lifted off headbands from heads and pulled them from loose grips.

One of the students started yelling as headbands flew away, floating smoothly through the air. "Your headbands! Tighten your headbands!" The quick-witted among them had already done so as soon as they'd seen the first headbands fly, the others deftly followed suit, tying them twice or thrice into tight knots impossible for Inasa to pull free.

Inasa, stood beside me, shoulder against my own on the now moving platform handed me over a dozen headbands. "The leader is supposed to keep all captured bands, right? Here you go then, sorry I couldn't get more."

"No, no. You got more than I could've hoped for so early in the game. We've still got time to make our overwhelming lead even bigger, and crush their spirits while we're at it." I said

Inasa blinked. "... I think you're taking this a little too seriously, Izuku."

Mineta who, I noticed, had been drooling while staring at Momo as she operated the controls, interjected again. "You're both insane. We should just coast for the rest of the test, even without all those headbands you've gotten we would still be set for the exam if we just avoided trouble."

I glowered at him, suddenly deeply annoyed. "I wouldn't expect you to know anything about winning, you little bastard. And you'd better keep your eyes to yourself and pull your weight- all fifty pounds of it- for the rest of this stage, or I'll toss you off this platform with a headband tied to your head and see how well you fare."

Mineta paled. "Y-you wouldn't..."

"I would." I said, staring straight at him without blinking an eye. I caught Inasa shaking his head out the corner of my eye and felt a welling shame fill me. I wasn't usually so foul tempered these days, so what was it about this kid that annoyed me that much? Was it because I maybe felt like he was a second tier student, that he wasn't worth my time? I thought I'd gotten over that.

"Izuku... Don't fight, please... It's not becoming of the class representative." Momo asked, glancing at me pleadingly. Her voice sounded frail.

I sighed. "Okay, I won't. As long as he stays in line." I glanced at Mineta seriously. "This is a team event. We can't get through this if we don't all work together, alright?" That sounded like something a good leader would say, didn't it? I hoped it didn't come across as cheesy.

Mineta waved me off, completely unfazed now that the immediate threat of being tossed overboard was apparently off the cards. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be amazing, you'll see."

"Question. Why didn't you simply avoid fighting for the entirety of the stage? Why go on the offensive when it leaves you open to having your points taken away?"

I made to respond to the newcomer but a chill ran up my spine. Almost without any conscious thought I scanned his quirk ,something that was becoming more and more effortless as time went by. Biting down on my tongue to refrain from answering him I took in his appearance. Wild, unkempt purple hair. Half-lidded eyes that made it seem that he wanted to be anywhere but here right now, and preferably in a bed. He didn't seem to be all that dangerous. A good candidate for going goth, yes, but not very dangerous.

Looks could be deceiving though.

Just by responding to something he said you would be ensnared, forced to do whatever he wanted of you. A vicious form of mind control that would fit right into place on a quirk serial killer or top-tier villain. A dangerous quirk.

"Don't respond to him." I whispered to my teammates, too softly for the new team to hear. "Don't even talk at all. I can't be sure of the limits of his quirk, but if you respond to him he'll be able to take control of your mind and make you do his bidding."

Blinking, Inasa asked. "Really? Who is he?"

"Shinso! You villain bastard! What do you think you're doing, huh?! Isn't it enough that all the girls in class drool over you, now you've got to try and take my girl too?!" Mineta yelled

Shinso smirked. "Mineta, so you were there too. What are you supposed to be? The mascot?"

Mineta flushed red with anger, even the balls on his head gaining a red hue. He opened his mouth and, before I could cover it, yelled back. "I'm no-" Then he froze and his eyes became glossy, like a doll's.

Shinso's smirk grew wider. "Mineta, attack the girl controlling that robot."

Like a zombie Mineta turned, grabbing a ball from his head and preparing to throw it at Momo. I hit him in the side of the head before he could make another move, dropping him limply to the metal floor, out cold even with an arm held to his shoulder. "That idiot..." I hissed. "I just said that he shouldn't talk and what does he do?"

Momo vacated her controls, making sure to keep contact with me or Inasa, and lent over to check on Mineta. "He's unconscious! Why did you do that?!" she yelled, eyes looking moist.

"He was trying to hit you. If he managed to get through with it we'd be down two teammates instead of one. It was the only thing I could think of right then, and I held back as much as I could. He should come to in a few minutes, without being in Shinso's control." Shinso had probably thought that since Momo was the one who had built the platform that she was also the only one who would know how to operate it, so knocking her out should have left us stranded.

Momo wasn't happy though, and she didn't look it too. Tight-lipped she got back to her controls and moved the platform forward once again, the short hydraulic legs moving slowly forward. What else should I have done? Have her get socked in the side of the head? I wasn't about to let that happen. The math was clear. Have one useless teammate out of commission for a few minutes or have one useless teammate and one very good teammate out too? I'd take option one all day, and I wasn't going to regret doing it either.

I would just have to get this Shinso guy out of the way as soon as possible. Holding up a hand, I willed air to condense into a tight ball in my palm.

"Izuku!" Hatsumei popped up from behind Shinsou, propped up just as he was by two large seeming general studies students with no other particularly significant traits. "Did you actually design that platform yourself?!"

Hatsumei. Of course she would be the one attacking me right now. I didn't answer.

"That's great! Well... I mean, it is a pretty simple design... I could have done it in the fourth grade, you know. But you have to take into consideration the mental faculties of the inventor when judging a work, I guess... So... Great?" She said. I could see her lips twitch up as she spoke, her eyes twinkle with a barely noticeable delight as she teased me, trying to get a rise. It nearly worked too.

I still hadn't tossed the condensed ball of air at them. Was this part of their plan? Try preventing me from attacking them by having Hatsumei pop up, as though they thought I wouldn't attack a friend?

Well, if that's what they thought then they were dead wrong.

I tossed the ball at them and it exploded in a wave of air pressure that caused a little crater to form in the earthen ground. The attack I had invented using Inasa's quirk to replicate Bakugou's explosions, while it wasn't as powerful as the real deal would be, still packed enough of a punch. Hatsumei and her team had managed to evade the attack though, two cables launching from Hatsumei's back and anchoring itself to the ground yanked them out of the way with time to spare. I had seen, and even been deigned fit to work on, parts of the device but Hatsumei had refused to let me see her baby in it's entirety. The mechanism that powered it was ridiculously powerful though. Powerful enough that unrestrained it could tip over an SUV. And this despite being light enough and small enough for a girl like Hatsumei to carry it about without any noticeable effort at all. So it wasn't that surprising to me that it could move the four students out of the way so quickly.

But that there was a not inconsiderate increase in the amount of ambient chatter after she used the device meant that it was still something special. It's uses in an urban terrain environment were potentially tremendous.

"Wow. So that is the power of someone who was born with a hero's quirk. How does it feel to be one of the lucky few?" Shinso asked. His demeanor turned slightly deranged. "What is it like to have a quirk that everyone respects?"

I didn't answer.

"This quirk of mine... I hate it! Why is it that you were born with a quirk that people love, and I was cursed with this!" Shinso yelled, spittle flying from his mouth.

Still, I didn't answer.

"I wanted to be a hero all my life... I wanted to save people, to protect them. And you know what they told me?!" Shinso continued, his anger rising with every moment. "They told me that I could never be a hero! The kids at school teased me, bullied me, saying that it was okay because I would become a villain someday! Of course someone with a mind control quirk would become a villain, right?! They were just doing the heroes a favor!"

"But still I didn't give up! I worked hard every day, I practiced martial arts and studied for hours every day so that I could use my quirk to become a hero, despite what they all thought! To prove them wrong!"

Inasa had already begun tearing beside me, wiping at his eyes with his sleeves. Momo was too, hands held over her heart in sympathy, controls forgotten. I didn't fall for it though. It may have been true, but he simply wanted me to lower my guard. This story was being told so that he could have an opportunity to take the headband from my head, and I wouldn't be caught unawares just because life had been unfair to him.

"I studied until my grades were good enough to enter UA, the greatest hero school in Japan! Things were finally looking up for me... And then, because I didn't have a quirk flashy enough to take on those robots in the entrance exam, I was failed! I was stripped of an opportunity to enter the hero course, all because I wasn't born lucky like you..." he spat on the ground, then made straight for us without any warning, his teammates pumping their oversized legs in tandem. "But now I have the chance to change all that!"

Inasa was actually crying in sympathy now, tears plopping and nose sniveling.

Hatsumei hoisted what looked like a gun over her shoulder and took aim. "Look closely support companies, this is one of the close range weapons developed solely by I, Hatsumei Mei!" Her gun looked odd though. The top half of the gun, what would usually be the slide was replaced with a clear, transparent cover filled with a bubbling, bright blue liquid.

I waited until Hatsumei was about to pull the trigger, until I saw her face contort in self-satisfaction at the thought of her impending victory over me. Then I held out a hand and launched another wind explosion at damn-near point-blank range. I'd controlled it's strength and consistency to be more of a bludgeoning attack than a shredding, disaster but it still easily put their entire team out of commission. For them to have actually thought that would work on me was… laughable. But I suppose that when playing off an opponents hail mary attempt you should judge them by their physical faculties, so I guess it may not have been so bad at all? I laughed at the thought. Mei probably shouldn't have gone around talking trash right off the bat.

"Tch. You actually tried to run straight at me and thought you could get away with it? You think that sob story was enough to have me hand over my headband without a fight? You should have learned by now... Life isn't fair. And I can't change that anymore than you could have changed the cards you were dealt. It's up to you to determine how you play with those cards though..." I began "And, even though you can't hear me now, for what it's worth I think those kids were wrong. You aren't a villain. You're going to be a hero, and with your quirk you are going to save a lot of lives. That's what I think." I don't know why I spoke to someone who couldn't hear me right then, but I felt like I had to come out and say it.

I summoned a shadow being, courtesy of my classmate Tokoyami, and compelled it to pluck the headband from the unconscious Shinsou. I empathized with Shinsou, I really did. But an event like this wasn't the time to show weakness. And if he did manage to become part of the hero studies course it should be because he had earned that right, not because I showed him pity.

The shadow I had summoned was unaware of the complex, warring thoughts going on in my head though. It was unaware of almost everything, to be frank. Unlike the sentient, cocky shadow being that Tokoyami had as a partner my own recently born shadow being was barely alive. It had an expressionless, featureless face and blank eyes, there didn't seem to be any sort of intelligence running through the thing at all. It simply went about it's business in mechanical fashion then hovered behind me, motionless. It even seemed less substantial than shadow. If you looked at it you could see right through to the other side, like it was made of a hazy glass.

Another team was out of the running, and with the brutal takedown of everyone who had come up to bat against me and my team so far the rest were hanging far back, trying to capture less rewarding but safer headbands instead. The only other teams I thought would be any trouble were Bakugou's and Todoroki's, and the both of them were still going at it, the crashes and bangs of their fight turning into explosive background music.

"Okay, Momo. We're going back on the offensive. Take us toward those two." I said jabbing a finger in the direction Bakugou and Todoroki's teams were doing battle.

Momo nodded stiffly and changed direction. Just beyond the gathering of little teams fighting over their lesser headbands were Bakugou and Todoroki, I figured we may as well take them out while we were headed that way. Engaged as they were the little teams didn't see us coming back until we were almost upon them.

"Inasa, cut off anyone who tries to make a break for it."

"On it."

Inasa swiped a finger and a team trying to run away was abruptly stopped as a wave of wind cut them off. They tried dodging to the side when it passed but another swipe and they were cut off again.

I made a yanking motion at the stumbled leader, his headband fluttering gleefully. The headband didn't move. Instead I had somehow directed a loose rock right toward my head, forcing me to duck down with a yelp.

I may have been embarrassed at the noise I made if a just awakened Mineta, startled by the unexpected rock that zipped over his head, made a girlish scream.

'My bad, my bad." I apologized.

Inasa laughed. "Your aim was a little off. Maybe aim at the thing you're trying to move?"

The asshole. Beneath the outwardly polite facade Inasa could be a real asshole. "Yeah, I kind of figured that out already, thanks." I ground out, hand twitching with the notion of yanking the legs right out from under him. If I wasn't sure that he'd be able to see it coming I would have done it already. I barely had a dozen hours of practice with his quirk, I thought I was doing pretty damn well.

Mineta stood on the edge of the platform, suddenly ripping balls from his head and tossing them with wild abandon into the air. His eyes were shut, so there was no way any of them would actually hit anything though. Tears pooled in the corner of his shut eyes and blood trickled from his head.

Damn. It looked like he was really putting his all into this.

When Mineta finally opened his eyes he saw more than a dozen students bound to the floor by his sticky balls. An expression of delight overcame him. "I… did it?"

He leapt into the air. "I actually did it! I mean… Of course I did it! What, did you think I was just throwing those balls without aiming? No way, I, the great Mineta, am the most accurate hero ever!"

I felt Inasa's eyes on me.

"What?" I asked, irked.

Inasa whispered softly under Mineta's grandstanding "Oh nothing. It's really cool that you helped him out like that. Despite what you said to Shinso you're actually a softy at heart. How'd you suddenly get better like that?"

I reddened and Mineta waggled a finger at me, just in time. "You're not so awesome now are you, copycat?"

Idly copying the midget's quirk I tossed one of my own sticky-balls right at his open mouth, stifling him. His eyes widened and he grabbed futilely at his mouth. It looked like he wasn't completely resistant to his own quirk. "And what do you think about that then, Inasa? Would a softie do something like that?"

Inasa just smiled silently.

"Tch. Forget it." I said.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" asked Inasa, pointing at the massive ice formation that had just appeared with something like disbelief.

"We won't need to. By my guess it's not going to last much longer."

The iceberg shattered violently and a piercingly cold wind rushed out from it, lasting only a moment.

Without needing to scale it's side we could move rather quickly toward the two teams, Bakugou standing on-top of a vaguely annoyed looking Kirishima and two rather chastised looking guys from the 1-b class. They looked to have taken a rather rough fall. Todoroki on the opposing side looked classically undisturbed, reclined on Shiro's shoulders almost like a king on a throne. Todoroki's teammates were decked in thick jackets, likely a preemptive measure on his part against the inevitable friendly fire of his quirk, but were still shivering madly.

"Todoroki!" Bakugou screamed with a hoarse fury, eyes alight.

I cut into his riposte, the unseemly metallic screeching and nonstop clunk of metal footfalls being rather attention-grabbing. "Hey Bakugou, Todoroki. Toss your headbands over to me please." I said, even as our walking platform kept right on walking, slowly passing by.

Bakugou, annoyed at being interrupted, lighted on me. "And just why the fuck would I do th-!"

Then he stopped, staring at me in bewilderment. In my outstretched hand I held two new headbands- including his.

"Thank you for the gift." I said, grinning.

* * *

**No, I'm not late. I don't know what you're talking about. I'd always planned to have chapter 12 come out months after chapter 11. It's called building anticipation, you know…**

**Anyway! I'll keep this end note short and sweet as an apology, even though I have nothing to apologize for! I really want to begin updating more regularly now that anticipation is at it's peak and so I may be shortening each chapter with the goal of more frequent updates. I hope that you come back for more as the story is just getting into gear after the tournament and during Golden Week. **

**I really, really want to thank everyone who gave such wonderful and insightful reviews. I typically respond to all reviews but for the past few months as I was -again, intentionally- out of commission I didn't do so and I figure responding a few days after the fact is okay but months later is unacceptable in a post snail-mail world. **

**For any of the past followers of this story, I'm really sorry about keeping you waiting.**

_Your feedback is the sanitizer that keeps away the late update germs. Please review, favorite or follow to keep me healthy!_


	13. Chapter 13

As if on cue Midnight suddenly announced over the speakers "Two minutes remaining."

Bakugou growled, furious, and made for our platform which was still clunking along. There was no way we could outrun him or Todoroki, so I made a calculated gamble and held up my 10 million point headband. Scanning the field and, with the help of the wind, I threw it at shinso's team who were holed together to the side, seemingly waiting out the rest of the round and nursing their wounds. With Mei's eyes able to see everything happening at our end in crystal clear clarity I knew she'd be able to spot it without any trouble.

Todoroki, ever calculating, took off after the headband without any hesitation. Bakugou was still roaring toward us, his teammates heavily carrying him our way.

"Inasa!" I yelled "Shield us!"

Before I had even finished my sentence a tornado was willed into existence around our platform, "It's up!" Inasa yelled. I was momentarily stunned at how quick his response was. Then an explosion blasted against the side, contorting the tornado inward. I took no time in using my own quirk to strengthen the tornado along with him, my arms outstretched to mimic Inasa's. Amidst the furious empowering of our shield Inasa took a moment to catch my gaze and grin like a lunatic.

"Wind Bros!" He yelled at me, his voice sounding soft under the wailing wind and spattering of explosions.

I laughed. There was a frustrated growl as the explosions suddenly stopped and I felt Bakugou's quirk run off toward the direction Todoroki had taken off in. "Looks like Bakugou's going for the other headband too."

"Why'd you do that!" Mineta yelled squeakily "Now that pretty boy is going through to the next round too!"

I held up a fistful of headbands. "I'm pretty sure we'll be passing through either way."

"But we won't be first!" Mineta retorted

"Nope. We wont. But going on how they treated me after I got first in the last round I seriously doubt that winning a round is a good idea. First place will either be heavily penalized in some way or it won't make a difference at all. Either way, I'm pretty sure we're good."

Mineta cackled. "Ingenious… They'll definitely be penalizing that bastard!"

I laughed.

"Hey, Izuku, what do you think the next round will be?" Inasa asked

"Worried?" I asked teasingly.

"No way!" Inasa said, crossing his arms with a huff.

I thought for a moment. "Well, it'll probably be a one on one battle tournament. All the teams with enough points to make it through this round will be split up and 'randomly' paired."

Inasa blinked. "How do you guess that?"

Momo cut in. "The third round of the sports festival is almost always one on one battles. It's very rare for it to be any other way."

"Yep, that's right. I've watched every sports festival that's aired for the past ten years and in all that time they've only changed the final round four times, and each of those times were for the third or second year students. It's more than just tradition, it's a way for the spectators to see the cream of the crop do battle one on one."

"Neeerddd…" Mineta drawled.

I tripped him.

"What was that?" I asked menacingly.

He held his hands up in defense. "Nothing! Nothing!"

* * *

"And with that, the second round has come to an end!" Midnight announced, cracking a whip. "The teams making it through to the next round will appear on the screen now!"

Glancing up I noticed that out of the dozens of teams that had participated in the previous round a mere four teams were to show up in the final round. Mine, Bakugou's, Todoroki's and a single team from the B class hero studies course. It seemed that Hatsumei and Shinso hadn't been able to hold onto the headband. I actually felt a bit of sympathy for the two, especially Shinso. The mind control kid's story had been pretty touching, it was too bad that he wouldn't be moving into the hero studies course this year. A quirk like that was pretty damn impressive, as I could attest to first hand. A mere response could have a villain in the palm of his hand, at least until the criminals wised up and shut the hell up whenever he appeared. To counteract that somewhat he could become infuriating, just flat out tease everything about a villain until they were frothing at the bit and talked back in blind-

Inasa nudged me. "Hey, you're muttering again."

I blushed. "Shit. Thanks Inasa."

"Besides, that damn Shinso is infuriating enough as is." Mineta joined in, a sour frown on his face.

Blinking I looked down. "What are you still doing here?"

"Hey, don't make it sound like I'm a hassle or something!"

"You are." I said flatly.

"Tch. I can see when I'm not wanted. I'm out of here! Anyway, now that that big-boobed Moo-Moo is gone there's nothing to look at over here anyways!"

My hands twitched dangerously as he stomped off, blatantly ogling girls along the way. "I'm going to murder that kid… Hey, when did Momo wander off anyway?" I asked Inasa

"About as soon as the round ended she went off looking for Jirou. You'd have heard her if you hadn't been so busy analyzing the students again. She didn't seem happy with you."

Confused, I scrunched up my face in thought. "Why is that? What did I do to her anyway?"

Inasa seemed just as confused. "I have no idea, man."

A seductive voice, tinged with more than a little undertone of threat, broke us out of our reverie. "Oh, you two seem to be having a very interesting conversation over here? Care to let me know just what it is that's so important you're ignoring my instructions for the next round?"

The hero Midnight stood threateningly before us, whip held tenderly between her hands. She was a bit shorter than Inasa and I but seemed to loom over us. I wasn't threatened though.

"Let me guess, third round is one on one fights so our teams will be broken up. Since there are only twelve students in this stage we'll all have to fight in the first round then two students will be chosen- _completely at random_-" I said the last bit with a large serving of sarcasm "-to skip the following round so that there are four students in the semi-finals. Am I right?"

The nearby students suddenly quieted, barely seeming to breathe.

"Oh? So you think you're smart, do you?" Midnight asked, stepping even closer to me.

"I know I am." I retorted

"Izuku…" Inasa whispered in warning.

"You've made a lot of trouble for us examiners, kid."

"That's not really my problem, lady."

She laughed sweetly. "Oh, you're such a naughty boy… I may just have to eat… you… up…"

A shiver went up my spine just as my brain finally managed to let me know that goading a teacher might not be the brightest idea.

Aizawa's voice sounded through the speakers. "… Midnight, I don't know what you're talking about down there but wrap it up. You're holding up the next round. Announce the first combatants already."

The guy had no care for formalities it seemed. That he wasn't sleeping right now was amazing to me.

Midnight pressed a button on her collar, probably the on switch for her mic. Staring straight at me with a dangerously seductive grin she announced. "First round will be Izuku Midoriya versus Setsuna Tokage. Both students please make your way to the stage immediately."

"You didn't even call in to check who the first fighters were." I said to her, raising a brow.

Midnight flicked the mic off once more. "Oh? Is that right?"

"Yes, it is. You have it out for me."

She laughed again. "Really? Well, you can't prove that, can you? Now, I think you should make your way up to the stage pretty boy. You wouldn't want to be disqualified, would you?"

I frowned at her infuriating grin but still headed to the stage. Inasa slapped me on the back as I went. "Good luck, man! With your passion I know you'll make it through!"

I nodded at him. "Thanks."

* * *

Setsuna Tokage, like it seemed all the girls at UA were, was really pretty. She also had green hair and eyes that very closely resembled my own which was less common. If someone were to announce that we were related it would be pretty damn believable. The tight fitting one-piece she wore was also not the official UA tracksuit, even if the colors and styling would have you looking twice to make sure.

"Hey there, you'll take it easy on a pretty girl like me wontcha?" She asked, batting her long lashes.

"Sure." I announced, confusing her.

"Wait- what?" she retorted.

"Sure I'll go easy on you. How about I fight this round with my right hand behind my back. That seems fair, right?"

Setsuna frowned. "Hey now, I was just teasing. I don't need a handicap."

"That's too bad, pretty girl, because you're getting one." I said, purposefully baiting her.

"You're going to regret doing that, pretty boy…"

I barked a blatantly fake laugh. "What are you, a Midnight in training? You'll have to work on your sweet talk some more."

"Round start!" Present Mic called.

Immediately Setsuna made for me. She was actually pretty damn fast. It also made me recall something.

"Hey, you were in the recommendations exam, weren't you?" I said this just as she sent a kick to my head. A flick of the wrist and a wind barrier knocked her off course. She wasn't bothered though and kept right at it, using the momentum of the kick that had been blocked to pivot and kick at my stomach with the opposite leg.

"Remember me, do you? Then you should think better about giving me a handicap."

"From what I remember Momo beat you pretty solidly."

She parried my verbal blow with ease. "And from what I remember both that wind kid and ice boy beat you, so by my numbers I'm ahead by one."

Damn. She had me there. That actually pissed me off a bit. "I guess I'll have to fix that right now."

"You can try if you like…"

A fist to the face was dodged thanks to a minor reflex enhancement. She had a preference for headshots. Either that or she was really pissed off at me.

"Got ya." She grinned. The fist actually launched off her arm and, of it's own will, hit me right in the eye.

"Ouch!" she yelped, her hand returning with a red hue.

My head had barely snapped back at all, the metallic sheen that covered my face telling why.

"You… actually managed to copy TetsuTetsu's quirk?" She said, rubbing her fist.

"That's right." I grinned, looking like the cat that ate the canary. It wasn't perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination. It was a lot weaker than the real thing for one, being about as hard as wood rather than steel and I could only cover a small area at any one time. Not that I would let her know that. If I'd practiced copying Eijiro's quirk at all I would likely have been a lot better, but I hadn't figured I'd be copying a similar quirk any time soon and to be honest there were so many complex quirks in my class and so little time to work on them that I'd barely gotten around to even testing half of them.

"It's not going to help you though. You got me off guard with that last one but I've fought the real deal and won without any trouble. Don't think something like that will let you win."

A pop from my hand surprised her. "On the contrary, I have a lot more where that came from."

Two of my index fingers had fused into a metallic barrel. A green gem was inserted in it. A pretty drastic modification of Aoyama's navel laser, even though Aoyama's quirk wasn't the only one I'd copied. A tail grew out of my back, slipping under my shirt, my eyes changed shape, pupils becoming shaped like a scope, similar to Hatsumei's. I still retained Inasa's Gale Force quirk even as the minor reflex enhancement quirk faded from my range, courtesy of the strain multiple quirks placed on me. I figured that I could use a carefully angled blast of wind to dodge any attacks that came too close too comfort or even throw them aside entirely. She didn't seem to have anything up her sleeve that could combat me, not as I was now so I supposed I could make things a little easier for her and play nice.

"Heads up." I said coolly, pointing my metallic barrell at her chest. A bright white-blue laser flashed from the tip, wide as my thumb. It wasn't even a tenth the size of Aoyama's own, but seeing as how it didn't shoot me backward or have me vomiting after that didn't bother me even a little.

Setsuna's eyes widened. As if held by invisible strings her limbs split to dodge the attack, levitating. If I hadn't given her a warning she'd have a hole through her back. Her reaction speed was impressive.

Instead of recombining once more her limbs continued to hover in the air, moving erratically. Fast, slow. In intricate, swirly patterns or sharp, jagged motions.

"Trying to confuse me?" I asked, bemused.

"It's more like not wanting to be hit. But if you're starting to feel dizzy that's a bonus." Setsuna said, her head still capable of talking even without the lungs and diaphragm typically necessary for fine speech.

"Not even the slightest bit, sorry. How are you even talking by the way?" I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity. Feeling my left hand twitch for the book I'd taken to keeping in my pocket to start jotting down my thoughts and observations about this development. I felt a bit embarrassed at myself.

"Wouldn't you like to know…" She teased, sticking her tongue out at me.

I shot a laser at her, deliberately aiming an inch high. "Why would I ask if I didn't?"

"Touchy."

I shot another laser at her then, this time aiming true. Moving at the speed of light, my laser beam could not be dodged once aligned and so it hit and seared a hole through her arm. It was just about as safe a spot I could choose to shoot a death laser at but the sight still made me wince remorsefully. That Recovery Girl was on standby was a very cooling thought.

To my surprise, though, the hole closed back up almost immediately leaving new, unblemished skin. I blinked, trying to make sure I hadn't been seeing things.

"You see? No matter how many times you hit I'll come back, good as new. It might not help much in an obstacle course race but it has its uses." She gave a sharp-toothed smile of satisfaction, flashing the offending arm.

"Tch." I tutted. "I'll see about that."

Annoyed, I aimed again and let off seven shots in quick succession, only stopping when my hand started to shake and burn, smoking. Three of the beams hit, two in her right thigh and one in her stomach. True to her word all three diy piercings closed up, good as new. What gave me something to think about though was that the third wound closed up a moment later than it should have, which seemed to indicate that her quirk slowed down with repeated use, a finding strengthened by my quirk sensing her weaken ever so slightly after my barrage, even if she seemed to bounce back just as quick. If this meant that her quirk slowed with each subsequent healing or if there was a hard and fast wall on how many times she could regenerate or maybe something else like that I wasn't yet sure. But what I could tell was that she wasn't as invincible as she wanted me to believe.

"Believe me now?" She said, sounding confident. If I hadn't known better I'd have called the match quits.

"You wish. You may not have realized but my quirk lets me detect and decode others, and what I'm sensing now is that there's a limit on how often you can regenerate as well as, if I'm right, how many pieces you can split into at a time."

Setsuna pursed her lips like she'd licked a lemon. "There's got to be a limit on how much a quirk should do. This isn't even fair." She sobered quickly though, blowing a rasperry. "Still, you're not the only one who can analyze stuff. Your quirk can only do so much for so long, and I'm guessing that you can only shoot so many lasers and block so many attacks before you run dry."

"Hm. Let's see who gives first then." I said, eyes narrowed.

Immediately Setsuna seemed to kick into high gear. Assorted body parts started flying all over the place, launching at me. I dodged a hand to the face and blasted away the shoulder that tried tripping me up only to get hid in the back of a head by an elbow from behind. My frantic swatting, twitching and dodging must have made me look like quite the sight. Combined with the dozens of random body parts flying all over the place it seemed like I was fighting off a horde of bats.

I shot off as many laser beams as I could manage with the damn thing overheating all the time and my wind was damn near useless against this. The only quirk that seemed to be useful was TetsuTetsu's steel but even that only blocked one of ten hits. The tail may as well have been a pool noodle for all the help it gave. I was starting to get really pissed off. This was ridiculous. I needed to retool, immediately.

And I needed to be smart about it, for the love of god.

Grabbing a bunch of quirks was fun, to be sure, but if they weren't appropriate to the situation my quirk may as well have been useless.

Think, Izuku, think.

I needed to be able to cause max damage in the shortest amount of time- without needing to aim all that well. I needed to be able to tank more hits- and not just at one tiny area at a time. I needed to be able to move on a dime without any wind up. Those were the three things that would help me out the most in a situation like this. Anything else would just be the cherry on top, but those were essential.

And with all that I'd be limited to choosing from the quirks of the people nearest the ring- the first years and Midnight in a nutshell- and it'd be for the best if I had some experience with the quirk in question.

Explosion. Gale Force. Creation. Those were the three quirks that best fit my requirements. What part Bakugou's quirk played was obvious. Inasa's was a harder sell, but right now it was the best quirk I could use for movement enhancement. Even if Iida's Engine was the best choice my experience with it was limited. A high-stakes fight wasn't the time to take it for a test drive. That Gale Force could also both deflect and throw around was a welcome bonus. Creation was a harder sell though, especially when Eijiro and TetsuTetsu beckoned so sweetly. But my practice with it at USJ meant I could make a pretty durable one piece armoured suit that would provide some protection and still have unrestricted movement.

So that's what I did.

"Got rid of the tail, huh? Is dropping some pounds supposed to help you dodge better?" Her mouth teased from a distance, even while her fist flew into my gut.

"You're hilarious." The kevlar suit beneath my tracksuit wasn't as good as a proper defense quirk would be but all things considered it was better than Tetsutetsu's steel quirk that I could only use to defend one spot at a time and that needed active guiding. "All I did was switch it out for something better."

And with that said I blew up the leg that was coming at me. A charred bit of meat no larger than a stick of gum was the only remnant. Without even waiting to see if it would regenerate I continued on the offensive, blasting everything in sight. I barely needed to aim. I just pointed a hand in the general direction of trouble and Bam! Trouble removed. I cackled inadvertently and my mouth twisted itself into a delighted smile.

Disembodied though they were, I could still see the panic in her eyes.

Her attacks became frantic, which only served to make it easier for me to evade. Time flew by in an explosive haze and Setsuna's attacks began coming in slower and slower. The dozens of limbs, I was sure, had started to drop in number. The body parts that now came at me were larger, easier to target. It didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen.

And sure enough, after one nasty blast to the head Setsuna's body had to regenerate- and in one piece. I needed to act quickly, before she recovered enough to start the whole show over.

As soon as she could move Setsuna made to escape but I wouldn't have it. My right hand, the hand that had supposedly been held behind my back all fight long, suddenly grabbed Setsuna from behind, holding her by the neck. Before she could recover I dragged her to the ground, her face smushed into the concrete floor. There was still a gleam of defiance in her eyes.

That disappeared when I held a crackling hand to her head. "That's game, Tokage."

"Yeah, yeah. I give already." She grimaced. "What happened to all that take it easy on you stuff you were talking about? I thought you said you'd fight me with one hand!"

"I only used four quirks at the end, not ten. Doesn't that count for something?"

Setsuna kept up her grimace for a moment before giggling. "You're such a show off."

"Maybe." I freed her from my grip, holding out my still-attached hand for her to take which she did. Her hands were surprisingly soft.

"Anyway, I don't think it's so bad to lose to someone as good as you. I can't believe you're still a first year! You'll definitely blast through those two guys from the rec' exam."

"You mean Inasa and Todoroki?" I asked, getting an earnest nod. "They're a lot better than you think… But they're not who I'm worrying about."

"Oh?" She said, patting off the dust from her tracksuit "And who would that be?"

"If these teachers really have it out for me then you'll probably find out in the next round."

The click clack of heels on concrete sounded.

"You wouldn't be trying to say something about my… preferences, would you little Midoriya?" asked Midnight. "I'm starting to think that you're trying to have me drag you on and off this stage."

With her whip within reach I didn't take any chances teasing any further. "No, ma'am."

"I really doubt that." She said, eyes betraying an eagerness to punish me. I couldn't find it in myself to be that upset about it either. But that was likely because puberty was putting fanciful ideas of what her punishment would entail into my head.

"I'll be seeing you, Izuku." Setsuna said "Just so you know, so far I'm up four points."

I smiled, amused. "How do you figure that?"

"One point from the recommendation exam, three points because you needed four quirks to hold your own against me."

I wanted to defend myself, saying that they were all technically part of my own quirk but that would make me look like a sore winner so I held off. "Sure Setsuna. I guess I'll have to really impress you next time."

"You'd better!" She teased, winking as she ran off.

I stood in place, wondering just what I was going to have to do to impress this girl I'd just met.

"… You're still here?!" Midnight yelled in disbelief.

I left immediately.

* * *

**I'll be honest, I am not exactly familiar with Setsuna, but she seemed like a very interesting character and her placement here seemed fitting. I don't read the manga and I've only watched as far as the third season of BnH. I know about some future events and characters because I'm a dirty, spoiler reading bastard. That is to say, all I know about Setsuna's character is from a few lines on the fandom wiki so it's almost certainly the case that her character is off. Please forgive me, and if you have any tips regarding how to portray her more accurately please let me know. **

**For all that Izuku has a ridiculously powerful quirk (some may say overly so), he still has his faults. He has a fantastic analytical ability and intelligence, but more often than not he uses his quirk ineffectively or even downright stupidly. In the fight with Setsuna I wanted to show that more is not necessarily better and that there are other factors that he needs to begin considering more carefully like their combined effectiveness, his familiarity with it or a similar quirk and the situation he needs to deal with. **

**Like I said last chapter, this chapter is a bit shorter than normal. I've tried to fix that by attempting to tighten my writing and just generally put as much story into the words available. This chapter has seen the end of the cavalry battle and Izuku's first fight in the third round so hopefully that's acceptable.**

**Thanks so, so much to everyone who left such lovely reviews, who've liked and followed this story so far. I've had a lot of fun working on this project so far and that couldn't have been possible without you. I hope you keep letting me know what you think of the story, what you think I could have done better, any fixes I should make and even what you'd like to see done further along. The story is still young and I'm not married to my outline— even if we share the same bed. **

_Your reviews, favorites and follows are the walls I need to keep out the mongol horde of laziness and distraction. Don't let those mongols raze and pillage my work!_


	14. Chapter 14

The first years sat in the stands, though a lot closer to the ring so that anyone fighting could go down without any delay. In the few minutes it took for Midnight to announce the round winner and call out the next round's participants with more than a little fanfare- or fanservice, as it were the pro-hero and UA teacher Cementoss would have gone down there and fixed up whatever damage had been caused by the destructive students. And this before the participants called could make it down to the stage. Everything ran with a precision and effectiveness that I couldn't help but appreciate… Even if I knew the bastards were match-fixing.

"And… Our participants for the next fight will be Inasa Yoarashi and Eijiro Kirishima! Make your way down to the stage immediately!" Midnight called.

Inasa stood, excitement evident. "Well, that's me off then. Wish me luck!"

I snorted. "You won't need it."

He jabbed me on the shoulder. It _hurt_. "Don't be so crabby, Izuku."

"Fine, fine. Good luck with this incredibly _challenging_ match. You happy now?"

Inasa gave a thumbs up in reply. "It's good enough, thanks."

Instead of calmly walking down the steps and into the arena floor like everyone else Inasa sprinted to the edge of the stands and dove right off. His glide down would have been a lot cooler if he'd been a bit more smooth about it, I thought.

Embarrassingly, Kirishima decided to follow suit and dove right onto the stage, his landing cracking up the floor and having Cementoss- who had just finished fixing the ring up and was just about to walk away- glare at him sourly. Like Inasa, Kirishima wasn't able to pick up on basic social cues and ignored the rightfully upset man altogether.

"Let's have a manly fight and give our best!" Kirishima yelled.

"What..." Inasa frowned intently when he landed himself. "Passion! I'll make sure to give it my all!" Inasa shouted like a maniac, eyes alight.

I shrank into my seat, hoping that no one nearby called out my friendship with him.

"You two are a bunch of morons…" Midnight muttered into her mic, forgetting it would sound throughout the stadium. I heard mutterings of agreement all throughout the stands. I couldn't refute it either.

"Miss, are we free to start?" Inasa asked.

Midnight gave a suffering sigh. "Sure. Fight start." She said dispassionately.

"Great!" said Inasa. Immediately strong winds encircled him, violently flapping his and Kirishima's clothes and making it difficult for anyone to get to him.

"And here I thought you were the type to go on the offensive from the start!" Kirishima yelled through the whipping currents and seeming to struggle to stay on his feet.

Inasa grinned sheepishly. "Looks like you've got me pegged. I just need a minute to ready this move I've been wanting to try since I saw Izuku do something similar!"

I groaned. I'm trying to keep our friendship on the down low right now Inasa, and you're calling me out on national television?

"Well, don't expect me to just wait around for you!" Eijiro replied, grinning at the admission and making for him with an impressive speed after reinforcing himself. When using his hardening Eijiro's skin seemed to crinkle and turn stone like. I had wondered if hardening his body actually altered his density, making him heavier. If it did the combat uses for rapid switching between the two would be tremendous, and it looks like my musings had been right. I should jot it down as a win for note taking.

Inasa was completely undisturbed, looking on coolly at the charging Eijiro while his legs were spread and his hands cupped to his side, evidently in the middle of his planned attack... It was a stance that looked eerily familiar.

"He wouldn't..." I thought aloud.

"Gale... Force..."

The waves of air were rolling, twisting as they migrated to between Inasa's hands. "Wave!" Thrusting his hands out and open, a chaotic beam of spiraling wind lanced out. It looked like a tornado, condensed, focused and flipped on its side.

Naturally Kirishima had no way of doing anything to defend against an attack so overwhelming. He tried to dodge it with a deft flip left but the beam actually course-corrected mid-flight, like a heat-seeking missile and he bounced against the barrier wall, his hardening possibly the only thing stopping him from making a splat. As it was he left an ugly scar in the wall for Cementoss to fix. The guy would probably think it was deliberate too.

The attack was, clearly, a replica of the signature _Kamehameha Wave_ of DragonBall Z. This guy... He was actually ripping off cartoons for quirk ideas... Why hadn't I thought to do that?

Not just that but the attack had also clearly taken inspiration from my previous mimicking of Bakugou's explosion with his Gale Force quirk. Condensing, concentrating the wind into a ball so that when breached it would rapidly expand to create a powerful explosion. He'd actually managed to copy my own method and further refine and enhance it many times over without a second of practice… If I'd thought he was a monster before my thoughts were doubled.

"Inasa Yoarashi wins by ringout." Midnight announced glumly. She had a sour look on her face, likely upset that the match didn't go on longer, the blood-thirsty witch.

Eijiro's prone form twitched and groaned before he achily made to his feet, stumbling. He was actually still in fighting shape, a testament to his ridiculous durability. "I know I said you should give it your best but that was ridiculous." He said, shooting Inasa a grin that the crazy wind-demon shot back.

That fight, short as it was, got my blood pumping for the next fight. I hoped it would be just as exciting to watch, but hopefully last a bit longer.

"Our next fight will be Katsuki Bakugou vs Momo Yoayorozu. Will the two make their way down please." Midnight called and my stomach dropped.

"Shit…" I muttered, grinding my teeth.

* * *

Despite giving off a confident visage on screen Momo was nervous. She stared at Bakugou with a grim determination, to be sure, but from where I sat I could see her hands tremble. It was just a few weeks ago that Bakugou had completely decimated both of us in All Might's class and the memory of the struggle was still fresh. Putting the two together so soon seemed cruel. I didn't have high hopes that this would turn out well.

"Fight start!"

Momo ran back, trying to create some distance between them. She needed time to use her quirk, if not a plan of action. I was sure she'd thought of something already, even if I doubted it's utility against somebody like Bakugou.

Bakugou appeared behind her almost immediately, his movement barely a blur to my eyes. He had evidently mastered firing his particular blend of nitroglycerin from his feet, crossing half the stage so quickly my eyes, even enhanced as they were, could barely pick it up. I wonder if cutting holes in your PE clothes was allowed? To Momo it must have appeared as though he'd disappeared from vision. She only noticed when he grabbed her shoulder and then she jerked in surprise, head whipping back to look at him. They stood motionlessly for a moment and he must have whispered something to her, too quiet for anyone to hear, because she started to shake with fear.

Bakugou shoved her forward and she tripped, falling to her knees. Before she'd even scrambled back to her feet he was back in his starting position, hands in his pockets, looking on with impatience. Momo took a moment to breath deeply, trying to calm herself.

I struggled with the irrational urge to jump in the arena right then, to show the bastard just what I thought of him. Only Inasa's voice managed to keep me from doing something stupid. I hadn't even noticed him coming back to his seat, engrossed as I was in the farce of a fight.

"Relax, Izuku."

"Don't tell me to relax, Inasa."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you think you can do right now? I know it's not cool that he's not acting all that nice but anything you do now is going to cause more trouble than good."

"He's a fucking asshole. I'm going to kick his ass." I spat, furious.

"Then kick his ass in your match. I know it's difficult for you to watch her get hurt, I'm not happy about it either but this is the way it's got to be. Momo is a classmate, and one of the best in our class. She can handle this, no matter which way it goes. You shouldn't think so little of her."

I wanted to argue with him, that I didn't think little of her, but I was too focused on the match. On the floor Momo was busily making something, her shirt lifted up to expose her stomach. They could have at least pointed the arena camera at Bakugou while she was making her weapon. Someone in the camera crew was a goddamn pervert, that was for sure.

"… Why is she taking so long?" I wondered aloud. She had already made a staff and was part-way through making some sort of device but it was taking way longer than usual. I'd been around Momo often enough to get a feel for how much time she needed to make something and even if it was ridiculously complex she didn't need much more time at all. Her showing when making the massive hydraulic platform a half hour back proved that. But as it was she seemed to be operating at less than half speed.

Bakugou was getting really impatient. He didn't seem all that bothered by her staff or even the device she was making. I didn't think he would be. If I had to guess the bastard had told her that he would give her as much time as she wanted to make whatever and he'd still beat her. He'd probably said something like _I'll crush you no matter what you make_. It would be right in line with his personal brand of pompous threats.

God, I couldn't wait to take him down a notch.

Finally, after more than a minute of waiting Momo's device was completed. "I'm ready!" Her voice called through the speakers.

"Finally." Bakugou replied.

This time he appeared infront of her, just as fast as before. To her credit Momo had already moved, swinging the staff right at him pre-emptively. He just palmed it, yanking it from her grasp in one smooth move. The metal staff exploded just as quick, blowing shards all over the place. Midnight yelped and jumped to avoid one of the shards, a look on her face that was both unhappy and panicked.

With the same move he had grabbed her by the throat, the threat of an esophagus-explosion unstated but obvious. The whole fight, the real fight, had taken a few seconds.

This time even the audience were loudly proclaiming their unhappiness at Momo's treatment, calling Bakugou names and booing. He ignored them and just calmly stared at the trembling Momo.

"I… I give up…" Momo said, her eyes looking watery.

"… That's match. The next fight will be in block two, Todoroki Shouto versus Ibara Shiozaki. Could the two please make their way down." At least Midnight seemed to express her disgust with Bakugou in her disapproving tone and pointed glance. Bakugou didn't give her even a second look, ignoring her and the boos and jeers of the audience.

* * *

After Momo had slunk off the stage and plopped into her seat beside Jirou still shaking, I came to a realisation. The reason she had been so out of it and had so much trouble with _Creation_ was because she'd been pushed so hard in the earlier round. Even I'd noticed that she was absurdly quiet throughout the whole second round, near-mindlessly maneuvering the platform. She must have been on her last legs before she'd even gotten in the ring with Bakugou.

Who's to say she couldn't have done better, made better equipment or weapons if she'd been in better condition? Maybe she wouldn't have won, but at least she wouldn't have had to suffer such an embarrassing defeat. A defeat that would be on national television, that her parents and family would be watching.

I got to my feet, an unpleasant knot in my stomach.

"Where are you going? Your next match will be happening soon." Inasa asked, puzzled.

"I need some air. I'll be back in time."

"Okay." He said, nodding in understanding and giving me a look of concern.

The cheers and yells of the audience up in the stands echoed through the emptied innards, everyone so enthralled in watching what was one of the greatest entertainment events of the year that they wouldn't leave their seats for even a moment. My breath came in fast and shallow as I paced through the deserted halls of the arena. I was beyond furious and more than a little anxious at my fight to come with Bakugou.

The guilt was overwhelming. There was so much else I could have done instead of the platform. I hadn't needed to go that far. I could have come up with a better plan, could have had the same result without pushing her to her limits. But I'd really wanted to stroll around the field tossing people around with a wave, to show my superiority by standing without a care on a machine while bringing destruction and crushing peoples spirits. To cut it short I'd wanted to show off. And because of that I'd humiliated Momo, and she hadn't even said a word about it! She hadn't complained at all!

I pounded a wall in anger then stilled, hearing frantic, panicked speaking. My fury, guilt and anxiety was momentarily stilled as I followed the on and off talking until I found Iida Tenya on the phone. I felt wrong for sneaking into what must have been a private conversation but I couldn't help myself. Iida seemed to shrivel before ending the call. He just stood there for a second before choking on air, a stream of tears breaking.

I couldn't be seeing this, I realized. Whatever had just happened, I had no right to be seeing this. And so I stepped back- but Iida immediately perked back up at the sounds of movement with a smoldering glare.

"Who's there?" he asked, his voice croaky.

_"Shit"_ I muttered softly

"I know someone's there!" Iida called.

I wanted to take off then, run out of this embarrassing situation. But the guy was fast- he had engines strapped to his legs for heaven's sake- and I was certain that if I took off and he had to chase me down this would turn out even worse.

"It's me, Izuku." I said, stepping into view with my hands held out in surrender. "Look, I really didn't mean to spy on you. I just heard someone who sounded really panicked and I didn't know what was happening so I came over to make sure everything was okay."

Iida didn't appear convinced. "You think I'll believe that?" He scoffed.

"I promise. Really."

His anger evaporated and his shoulders sunk once more. "It's okay. I'm sorry. I'm just… on edge right now. I- I got some really bad news."

With that opening I couldn't help myself and asked without thinking. "What was the news, if I could ask? It's okay if it's private, though."

Iida frowned. "It is." He paused. "But there isn't any reason for me not to tell you, I'm sure you wont go spreading it around. And it'll probably be on the news soon anyway."

Now I was really interested. On the news?

"My brother… My brother was just attacked by the Hero Killer Stain."

My eyes widened. "Is he…"

Iida sighed. "No. Thankfully. But… they say that he- he'll probably never be able to stand again."

"Im… I'm really sorry to hear that… Your brother- he's Ingenium isn't he?"

"You knew?" Iida asked, surprised.

"I guessed. Ingenium has a quirk really similar to your own and you both look really alike. You have the same surname too."

Bringing up his brother's occupation made Iida shrivel more. "Yes… He was becoming really popular too… He was just starting to make a real name for himself, he was just starting to show how well he could help people. Now it's all been cut short… Because of _that_ man!" Iida yelled, his croaky voice echoing over the now out of place cheering of the audience.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I'm really sorry Iida. I know it can't mean much, I know that. Do you… Do you want me to go with you to the hospital?"

"What?"

It was a spur of the moment offer. I had no idea where it had come from, or even what it could possibly do to help. I guess I'd never been placed into a situation like this and I had no clue what to do to make things better. But I wouldn't back out now that my cards were on the table. "Do you want me to go with you to the hospital, to visit your brother? That's where you're going now, right?"

"And just what do you think going with me is going to do?" Iida asked, looking genuinely affronted.

"I don't know." I said honestly "I just figured that maybe it would be a little difficult for you to go on your own, you know? And even though I didn't want the job, I feel like the class president should help out his classmates whatever way he can."

Iida still seemed somewhat confused as to what my going along would do but seemed to mull it over. "… Okay. I'd appreciate it. But… What about your match?"

I waved him off, both satisfied and mortified that he'd accepted the offer. "Don't worry about it. To be honest, I'm starting to think that this whole tournament isn't worth my time."

Iida pushed up his glasses. "That's not true. The sports festival is a way for the teachers to place us into novel combat and rescue situations against opponents we aren't intimately familiar with, and all with the pressure of being watched by the public." He said, not being able to help himself off of lecturing even now.

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

"Okay…" Iida accepted reluctantly.

"And don't worry about Stain either. He is going to pay for this, sooner or later."

Iida's eyes flashed dangerously. "He will…" he promised.

* * *

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Kirishima's second-rate clone from 1-B was already waiting in the ring for me. He seemed eager to start the match. I ignored him, looking to Midnight. She was examining her nails with extreme interest and I coughed to get her attention.

"You sure took your time." Midnight said.

"I forfeit." I announced.

Midnight narrowed her eyes at me. "… And just why would you be doing that?"

I shrugged. "The last match took a lot out of me. It takes a lot of effort to copy so many quirks at once, especially as far out as they were. There's no way I can continue and still make a good showing."

She looked me up and down, her peaking distrust visible on her face. "You look perfectly fine."

"Well I'm not."

She grit her teeth and quietly switched off her mic. "You're doing this on purpose… You aren't really out of it at all. Do you take me for an idiot?"

"Well, you can't prove that now can you?" I said, acidly spitting back her earlier comment. I wasn't ashamed to admit that the look on her face at that gave me endless delight. I could almost hear her incoming aneurysm as I left without waiting for a response.

Making it out of the arena after that was a cakewalk. When I was just beyond the glassy entrance I felt a familiar quirk coming towards me from above. Sure enough, when I looked up I saw Inasa gently gliding down to meet me.

"Are you really that tired? I mean, you can't really be, could you?" He asked before his feet even touched the ground.

"Nope, I'm fine." I said nonchalantly.

Inasa blinked a few times at the answer. "Then why?" He asked, confused.

"Because there are things more important than this tournament." I said firmly.

"Huh?" He said, now even more confused.

"I'll tell you about it later, I'm holding Iida up enough as it is. I'm sorry we wont be able to have our finals match, but this really is important. Just, do me a favor right?"

Inasa smiled at my sly vote of confidence. "If it's really important, don't worry about it. What do you need me to do?"

"Teach that explosion bastard a lesson for me. And it really is… but I'll admit a part of me is pretty glad I get to screw over the examiners, just a bit." I admitted sheepishly.

He laughed, slapping me on the shoulder.

* * *

Iida and I rushed to the hospital, at one point sprinting for miles from the train station to the hospital proper. By the time we made it Iida's elder brother was still in critical condition and the nurse refused to let anyone in, saying that the doctors were still operating. The situation, tense and anxious as they waited to hear if a loved one would make it through the night, wasn't exactly the best way to meet Iida's family either. They'd wondered what I was doing there and Iida had, thankfully, defended me before I could utter a word.

"He's a really good friend of mine. I asked him to come with me. It- it was really difficult for me to come out on my own."

I gave him a nod of appreciation at the white lie which he returned. His explanation seemed to win them over and they looked at me a lot more fondly but were otherwise too worried to engage in small talk. Instead we all nervously sat outside the room without saying a thing. Iida barely looked like he was breathing and I felt completely useless right then. Two hours passed just the same before the nurse returned.

"Mr and Mrs Tenya, your son is in stable condition…" Here she stopped, looking baffled.

The relieved parents sighed in relief, then noticed the nurse's confusion. "What's wrong?" They asked, a tinge of nervousness in their tone.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong. It's actually really, really good. Your son is already awake and asking for you. He doesn't even seem addled by the operation." The nurse said.

Iida and his parents broke into relieved smiles. "That's fantastic!" Mr Tenya said.

"Yes… I just haven't seen anyone recover so fast after such a serious injury. I suppose Pro-Heroes really are something else…"

So saying she lead the Tenya's into their son's hospital room. Out of courtesy I stayed back, Iida giving me a thankful nod.

… Why did I decide to do this again?

* * *

**Inasa's Gale Force Wave isn't just an attempt to pay homage to the signature attack of a childhood anime but also there to show that this BnH universe has many things in common with our real life world and that Inasa is not just a dopey character with super strong wind powers and that the people around us help shape who we become. In canon Izuku took a lot of inspiration for his eventual fighting style from Iida as an example, and in here Izuku's friendships and indeed enemies will help shape each other. Bakugou's massive power up after his seeming humiliation is an example of the latter.**

**There will be some people upset that Izuku bailed on the third round to go with Iida, an action that isn't really all that helpful for Iida anyway. So am I if I'm honest. I guess that Izuku is starting to discover that he isn't quite so uncaring about other people as he thought, though he doesn't realize it just yet. What this means though is that there will be people who think that the only reason Izuku disappeared is because he was scared of facing Bakugou, his inevitable competitor after his match with Tetsutetsu. So will Bakugou, to be honest. And the ramifications for his attempt at kindness will be more than just that.**

**And Izuku's seeming mistreatment by the staff isn't because of some personal grudge against the guy, at least not wholly. I'd wanted for this to develop and be shown over the story, but the staff are harder on Izuku because to put it simply, he can take it. UA knows that not everyone is equal, that some students have more potential than others and for those students they do little things to up the difficulty rating. If your kid is a master gamer don't set the game to casual, shove them into hardcore and see what happens. And UA has insane standards regardless, so it's not like the reverse is true. They don't put on kid gloves for anyone. If you don't make the cut you're tossed. Better to humiliate someone then send them to their deaths in the future. They wont go to extreme lengths to make things harder for him, that would be too much, but they do put him and the students with greater potential in tougher situations. And since Izuku can be a stubborn bastard he reacts accordingly to what seems like clear mistreatment.**

**Aizawa still doesn't like him all that much though, to be fair.**

**I hope that saying the above doesn't take anything away from the story, but since I've already shown multiple cases of it so far in the story I don't think it will.**

**Also, on a personal note I want to say thank you to everyone who's been following, favoriting and reviewing the story. We've passed 100 reviews, 500 follows and we're nearing 500 favorites and that couldn't have happened without you taking the time to in your own way show that you've liked what I'm doing. I know it's been a slow burn and there's a lot of things not to like but it means a lot regardless. I'm not going to pretend that all that stuff doesn't mean anything to me, because it does. Who doesn't like being appreciated?**

_When you have the time please show that you like what's going on by leaving a review, following or favoriting. It's the silver bullets I use to shoot down the werewolves that dare interrupt my writing time. Thank you :)_


	15. Chapter 15

My phone vibrated in my pocket for no less than the thirtieth time. I didn't need to check to see who it was or what it was about, my mom had been trying to get hold of me for hours. I couldn't deal with her worrying so I'd turned my phone on silent. That it was already dark out and she hadn't heard a peep back from me was probably not great either, and if I was right she was back at home worriedly pacing all over the place and cleaning in between calls and texts to my phone- I was being an asshole again, I knew it. I should just at the least send her a text to let her know where I was and that I would be late home, but I didn't.

I couldn't help it though.

I had too much on my mind. Between worrying about Iida and his brother, feeling guilty over Momo's loss against Bakugou, desperately wanting to punch the blonde's head in and stressing over just why I'd thought following Iida to the hospital to what might have been the mourning of his older brother was a good idea. I couldn't handle mom's fretting right now even if she meant well- especially since she meant well.

A suffering sigh escaped me.

"Hey, Izuku…"

I perked up to see a relieved Iida standing in the hall. "Hi Iida. Is everything alright?"

Iida nodded. "Yes, my brother is awake right now- against the doctor's advice." He said, disapproval showing. "My parents have left already, they wanted to thank you for coming with me. I think they want me to invite you over to our place to 'hang out'." Iida's upward pitch at the end let me know that Iida had never had friends over before and his parents had begun to think that he didn't have any. That I'd never seen him hang out with anyone in or outside of class was telling too.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind that, though I've been really busy the last month. I guess I didn't really know how much work UA would be before I started, and how lazy I've been. Not to mention the class president duties I've been foisted with." I said, giving him a pointed stare.

He ignored me. "My brother wants to see you too."

I blinked. I'd never met the guy, even if I'd seen snippets of him on television. What he could want with me, I had no clue. "Really? What for? How does he even know I'm here?" I asked.

"My parents let him know." Iida replied succinctly "And what for, I'm not sure. I guess he wants to thank you for coming along too."

The nurse that had updated us on Ingenium's condition was standing guard inside the room, as if to make sure that we didn't do anything to excite the now crippled hero. Her infatuation with the man was evident too, her blush and attempts at discreetly glancing at his chest clearly visible.

As for Ingenium, had I not been told of the extent of his injuries I'd have thought the man was in there for a broken bone. Apart from his slightly pallid skin, the sweat on his brow and the many tubes feeding into his prone form on the bed he seemed perfectly healthy, his eyes alight with intelligence and a slight smile on his face.

"Big brother, here he is. This is Izuku, a friend of mine and the class president of class 1-A."

A larger, more genuine smile appeared on Ingenium's face. "Don't be so stiff, Iida." He admonished.

Instead of relaxing Iida straightened up even more. "Okay."

Ingenim chuckled. "So…" He said, inspecting me. "You're Izuku Midoriya? I've seen the video of your fight against the slime villain- I was really impressed with how you handled things. I'd actually been planning to apply to have you mentor under my agency for Golden Week, but I suppose that's out the window now right?"

He tried to appear flippant about the whole thing but I could tell that his sudden, forced retirement was weighing very heavily on the man. Iida teared up at the reference and tried passing off a wet sniffle as him clearing his throat.

"I'm very sorry about that. I'd have loved to work under the great Ingenium." I said, even if I wouldn't be caught dead working alongside a ragtag group of dozens of spare D-class sidekicks. To be fair a position like that was beneath me, even if only an internship.

Ingenium waved me off. "No worries, I'm sure you'll be flooded with mentors to choose from. I'm not so arrogant as to believe that I'd actually have had a shot pulling a kid as talented as you are." He laughed.

I had a sinking feeling at the admission and I wondered, what if my stunt in the third round of the sports festival had soured my popularity? What if I _wouldn_'_t_ be offered apprenticeships to good hero agencies?

Ingenium coughed. "Hey, Iida. Could you run down to the cafeteria for me? I'd really like a chicken sandwich and a cola. I don't think I could stomach the standard hospital food around here."

Iida was reluctant. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. Your recovery is really important, I don't think the doctors would want you eating junkfood."

"Don't be so difficult Iida. I'm sure a sandwich and soda isn't going to send me into a coma. Besides, I don't think the nice nurse over there is going to be ratting us out. Right?" He asked, giving the quiet nurse a beaming smile. Her already bright blush went even redder. I couldn't help but be impressed at how suave the man was being- and in a hospital bed no less, hours after being beat into a quivering lump of flesh.

"Y-yes!" The nurse squeaked. Ingenium smiled self-satisfyingly.

"See?" He said, brilliant white teeth showing. "Now go out and get me that sandwich. I'm starving."

Iida nodded sourly. "Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Yeah, yeah."

A few minutes after Iida had left Ingenium turned his attention back to the nurse. "I really appreciate your help. I don't think that stubborn little brother of mine would have helped me out if you didn't agree."

The nurse could only nod appreciatively, eyes on the floor.

"I know I must be taking advantage of you, but you wouldn't mind stepping out for a few minutes while I speak to this future hero would you? He has a bright future ahead of him and even though I can't be a hero myself anymore I still have a lot of advice I can give to young hero students."

"Wouldn't it be okay for me to stay? It's my job to make sure nothing happens to you…" she said

Ingenium beamed at her again and she went weak in the knees. Damn if this man wasn't good at playing people. "That's very brave of you. But there are some strictly hero business I want to let this young man know. I would be putting you at risk by letting you overhear- and get myself in a whole lot of trouble too. It would mean a lot to me if I could share some of my experience with a talented student."

The nurse looked uncertain.

"But don't worry too much- maybe I can't walk anymore but I'm not completely useless. I think I can handle myself against a first-year hero studies student for five minutes, even if he is a very impressive one."

That sealed the deal and with a nod and a not so quick glance back at the smiling Ingenium the nurse left, the click-clack of her heels pattering away.

"We're finally alone." Ingenium said, his tone becoming serious. The air in the room seemed to change, from a warm, light hearted one to cold and oppressive.

"Ingenium?…" I called, almost ready to start fighting if I needed to.

"Tensei. Call me Tensei. That's my name, after all." He said.

"Okay then, Tensei. What did you want to tell me?" I asked. I had the suspicion that he _wasn't_ about to tell me super-secret Pro-Hero techniques, if such a thing existed.

"I'm sorry about the whole run-around. I'm sure you must have guessed by now that I wanted to speak to you alone."

That was pretty clear, yes.

"… You know, I'm not all that bothered that I'm not going to be a hero anymore."

My disbelieving face must have been easy to read because he chuckled and continued. "Okay, so maybe I'm a tiny bit unhappy about the whole thing. But I'm not as worried as I should be. Maybe that's just the shock talking but I think it's more than that."

I just stood quietly, my heartbeat returning to normal as I realized I would _not_ be fighting a crippled man.

"Don't get me wrong, I love helping people. There's not a day that will go by that I wont miss it. And I'll miss my agency- all the people who helped me make Japan just a little bit better…" He cleared his throat. "But I think the reason it's not all that bad is because, out of my family, I'm probably not the one who was destined to be a great hero."

"My brother, Iida… I know he looks up to me. Thinks I'm this great guy, this phenomenal hero. But the truth is that as far as talent goes he has me beat so bad it isn't funny… Do you have a little brother, Izuku?" He suddenly asked.

"No, I don't." I replied simply. There was no wishful undertones in my response, thoughts of what could have been. I'd never really thought about having a little brother or sister.

"Ah. Well, I'm sure you can sympathize anyway. As the big brother you always want your little brother to think of you as this strong, reliable figure. Someone almost mythical. I don't know why, but Iida always has. I know he doesn't feel like he can compare sometimes, but truthfully if I had half the talent he had I'd have been in the top national pro-rankings by now, five years into my solo career. He's held the first-ranked position in his class every year since he could speak, is a nationally ranked athlete with multiple national records in his age group for a bunch of different sports and has an almost fanatical devotion to justice that frightens me at times." Tensei nodded at me. "I just know that he's going to be someone great."

"Ah. That's- that's really kind of you to say." I replied, unsure of what to say to that.

"It's the truth. And all of that long winded talk was just to say this- for all Iida's good qualities he can be really stubborn when he's upset, and there's nothing anyone can say that will stop him from doing what he wants then. Believe me, I've tried often enough. And right now I can tell Iida is planning on trying something really, really stupid."

What Iida had said in the stadium- that Stain would definitely be getting his deserved karma- I hadn't thought that he'd wanted to deal it out personally but now that Ingenium had pointed it out I couldn't help but be horrified at the idea. Ingenium was a pro-hero and he had very nearly been killed by Stain. There were other heroes who hadn't been so lucky. Iida going out on his own, on some ridiculous crusade for revenge… That could end terribly.

Tensei nodded. "I see you've realized what I mean. But I guess you would, since you two seem to be friends."

"Yeah- close friends." I lied.

Then the fearsome aura that had so suddenly appeared evaporated, and Ingenium looked as frail as someone who had just hours ago been on death's door should have looked. How much effort could it take to put up a facade of confidence when you had just been crippled, had your lifes dream ripped away from you?

"Izuku… I know it's not your responsibility, but please… Please keep my stubborn little brother safe." Ingenium's voice quivered as he spoke and I could make out the start of tears in his eyes.

"I will." I said, clenching my fists. "I promise."

* * *

I was in the gym, completing my workout with an intense fervor. After the sports festival and watching Momo get embarrassed by Bakugou in no small part thanks to me I was more determined than ever to get my revenge. I'd been so eager to get to the gym that I'd tossed and turned for hours in bed, struggling to get to sleep. I'd arrived even earlier than usual, even after less than five hours of sleep, and proceeded to put out more effort than ever before, determined not to leave until I struggled to stay upright. My legs shook with effort, the barbell feeling crushingly heavy across my shoulders as I slowly, ever so slowly creeped up from my squat.

My shirt was soaked with sweat, as were my legs. My back trembled with the effort and my legs burned so much I thought it was a miracle I hadn't burned a hole through my sweatpants. I panted between breathes, struggling to breathe.

Finally I racked the barbell that felt heavier now than when I'd started.

"You've been working hard."

I startled at the voice. I _never _saw anyone in here this early in the morning, and that was intentional. I didn't want to be around when the rest of the UA monsters came in. I was sure every one of the upperclassmen could make my efforts look laughable.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, then frowned. In the hands of the blonde upperclassmen I'd met in my first training session with Inasa was my workout journal. He wasn't even looking at me as he spoke, instead languidly turning pages and nodding every so often. "Is that my journal?"

"I usually check in on you every so often. It's a little difficult since you come a lot later than I do but since I'm sort of your mentor I feel like I should know what you've been up to. And yes, this is your journal. You don't recognize your name on the cover?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

I wasn't amused. This was the second time I'd been interrupted during a workout and it was getting really annoying, even if he was at least nice enough not to call out during my set. And did I just say that I came later than he did? That was ridiculous. "Could you give that back, _please_." I asked through closed teeth.

The upperclassman tossed the book at me. I fumbled to catch it. "Sure, I'm done checking it anyway." He said. His voice was endlessly cheerful and there was an almost dopey smile on his face. "You've nearly doubled most of your main lifts in just a couple weeks. That's ridiculous. Most people only add a few pounds every workout you know, even when they're newbies."

A budding pride rose at the compliment. I _had_ been giving it my all. A convenient recovery quirk or two every now and then had helped a lot too. "Thanks." I said, a little more appeased at his intrusion.

He wagged a finger at me. "But don't think that let's you off the hook. I watched your third round of the sports festival- the little you decided to do anyway."

I felt the urge to take one of the loose 45lbs weightplates and throw it at his smiling face, any goodwill forgotten.

"Just what possessed you to do something like that?" He asked, eyes calculating.

Who did this guy think he was anyway? So he gave me his journal, and sure that helped me out a lot, but did that mean he could lecture me all of a sudden? I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. And so I did. "And just who are you to tell me what I should do anyway? You weren't there, you didn't see the way they treated me."

He jabbed a finger to his chest. "Mirio. Mirio Togata. I'm your mentor, like I said before. And just because I wasn't there doesn't mean I couldn't see what happened. Maybe history isn't your strongest subject but television has been around for a few hundred years, you know."

My eyes narrowed. "Handing someone a book and disappearing isn't exactly mentorship."

Mirio scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Uhm… Sorry?" He said apologetically. "I've just been really busy, I guess. Third year's the worst. And with it being my last year before I have to start Pro-Hero work I've been working as hard as I can to get into shape. But that's no excuse!" He said finally, slamming a fist into his palm. He reminded me a lot of Inasa, except without Inasa's boner for passion.

I slapped a hand to my head. I couldn't stay angry at someone who was just trying to help me out. "Why do you want to mentor me so badly anyway? Especially since you're so busy. I think it's a waste of your time."

He laughed lightly. "Hmm. You think so?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, I guess I want to do it so bad because someone did the same for me when I was a first year. Without my mentor I wouldn't have become half as strong as I am now. I had trouble controlling my quirk- for the longest time I could barely do a thing with it. I wondered so many times if it wouldn't be less trouble without it. Now it's as easy as breathing and I'm one of the toughest students in the third year- if I do say so myself. If I can help one person become stronger than they would have been without me then that's worth the effort, even if I'm nowhere near as good at mentoring as my mentor." Mirio said, sounding nostalgic. I could tell that he held a lot of respect for his own mentor, whoever that was.

That sounded pretty nice, actually. "And why me? Why not someone else?" I was genuinely curious.

"Well, I saw how hard you were working out on your own and I figured that anyone who would work that hard at training would be a lot easier to help out." Mirio said sensibly. "Plus, you're super skinny. When you eventually pack some muscle on those thin bones and I tell people I've been mentoring you since you weighed a soaking wet hundred pounds at fifteen they'll assume I must be a fantastic trainer."

I blinked. He burst into raucous laughter. "I'm just kidding, just kidding. Well…" He continued, staring at my arms. "Not really. But you know what I mean."

"You really have a way with people…" I grumbled.

"Thank you!" Mirio said, beaming. "I try my best to be the type of approachable hero who saves people with a smile!"

* * *

A yawning Aizawa stumbled into class, dragging a sleeping bag. Some of the girls were chatting at the back of class and he shot them a glare that had them spitting apologies. "…Shut up." He said, silencing them.

"I know that you must all be so excited about Golden Week. You're hoping to relax, maybe visit the beach or take a trip to the shopping mall. Well, too bad. Here at UA our hero studies students don't get days off."

Mina Ashido moaned, about to complain but a nudge from the invisible girl Toru made her rethink. Aizawa had noticed her though.

"You think villains will be taking a break, Pinkie? They just call it in for the weekend, right?"

Mina squeaked and stared at the floor. A sleep deprived Aizawa was terrifying and he was almost always sleep deprived. If he showed up to class without a scruffy hairstyle, messy clothes and red eyes I don't think I would recognize him.

"They don't, if you couldn't tell I was being sarcastic. It's when people relax and let their guard down that they strike. If you're serious about being a hero you'll forget holidays, birthday parties and anniversaries. This job isn't all glitz and glam and cereal sponsorships." Aizawa said, his voice going up the more he spoke, nearly shouting by the end.

The man seemed to have a disdain for celebrity heroes. It was probably why he stayed as underground as he could, I thought.

"Instead you'll be apprenticing under a prohero who'll do their best to beat their particular brand of heroics into your head. Since they'll forever be known as someone who took you under their wing they have an incentive to teach you as much as they can so they'll look good- and since they're looking for the kids with the best talent your options will be limited by how well you did in the Sports Festival."

Just like Tensei had alluded.

"Any of you who didn't give your all or who bailed out because you were lazy won't be getting offers from the higher-ranked heroes. I'm speaking to you, Midoriya." Aizawa said, giving me a withering look.

I stayed quiet.

"Now, if I hear you a sound from any of you I'll decide that maybe you should do suicide runs until you collapse to work off all that energy." He was already climbing into his sleeping bag while he spoke.

* * *

"Are you excited about choosing your hero name, Izuku?" Inasa asked as we walked away from homeroom. Our first class for the day was supposed to be a special lesson held by that bitch Midnight, so that we could decide what our hero names would be.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a name." I said, shrugging.

"No way, dude!" Hanta Sero said, shaking his head. "Your hero name's like, really important! It's what people remember you by, if you have a bad name people aren't going to think much of you."

Inasa nodded at the guy who butted into our conversation. "Sero is right, Izuku! Your hero name says a lot about you and the type of hero you want to be."

"My hero name is going to be Pinky!" an excited Mina said. "It's fun and bubbly, and doesn't take itself too seriously. Just like me!"

I thought it was a little too on the nose, but I wasn't going to be living with it so it wasn't my problem. More importantly were all my conversations going to be public property from now on?

"Mine is going to be Chargebolt! The Stun Gun Hero, Chargebolt… That sounds super cool right?!" Kaminari said, answering my quiet question.

"I think you're all taking this too seriously. It's just a name right? I'm sure I can come up with something that doesn't sound too bad."

_Pinky_ poked me in the side. "You mean you _haven't_ even _thought_ of what you want to be called yet?" she asked

"Nope."

"Everyone thinks about what their hero name is going to be. When I was younger I'd practice my poses and stuff, even name my super-attacks. I'd sometimes imagine interviews and badass saves, and how the crowd would cheer me on and stuff." Kaminari said, and with how excited he was I thought maybe he hadn't stopped doing it either.

"That's weird. Why would I want to do something like that?"

Mina looked horrified. "Guys! We need help! Izuku doesn't have a hero name!" she called out. A bunch of students soon crowded around, tossing out name ideas. I didn't even know most of them, they were just random students who'd been going to their next class like we were.

"The Copy Kid!" one yelled.

"That's stupid!" Another said and I agreed. It was terrible. "He should be called the _copy chameleon_ instead!"

That was worse.

"How about Sir Replicate, Izuku?" Kaminari asked.

"Definitely a no from me, Chargebolt." I replied and he grinned back.

"U-um… what about _Amorpheus_?" The quiet Koji asked, barely audible. Despite looking like a hulking rock monster Koji was a super-nice, super-shy guy.

"Nope Koji. I don't think that works either."

"Maybe he should call himself _coward_ instead." Kirishima said. The chattering immediately ground to a halt, opinions on name forgotten.

"What are you talking about, dude?" Sero asked.

Kirishima waved his hand. "You know what I'm talking about. You were there too. He said all that nonsense about being too tired to continue but we all know that the only reason he quit was because he knew that he'd be facing Bakugou after that Tetsutetsu guy and he was scared."

The silence grew.

"… That's a load of nonsense, man." Sero replied.

"Is it? We all saw how badly Bakugou beat him up back in _Foundational Studies_. I figure that he didn't want to embarrass himself on national television so he came up with some half-assed story so he could bail out early without looking stupid."

"That makes a lot of sense…" One of the many surrounding students mumbled.

"Don't be an asshole, Eijiro. The only reason Izuku lost back then was because the only quirks that were really around were Bakugou's and Momo's. And since Bakugou would obviously be better at using his explosions than Izuku and Momo's quirk isn't great for straight out fighting without any time to prepare of course he would lose!" Sero said, waving his hands about.

"Oui, oui. Izuku's brightness far outshines Bakugou's! But I'm still the brightest flower of all!" Aoyama announced, twirling. Everyone ignored him.

"I'm not trying to be an asshole. I'm just saying. Doesn't it seem really suspicious that Izuku would drop out of a tournament he was crushing just before he was supposed to fight the guy who kicked his ass a week earlier?" Kirishima retorted, and I felt my right arm turn to steel, involuntarily copying a nearby quirk to lay a beating on Kirishima. He and Bakugou had been hanging out a lot and I figured Kirishima wasn't the one to come up with this theory- but if he kept at it he would damn well be accepting the consequences.

"I couldn't give a damn about fighting Bakugou. I did it dozens of times already- and I came out on top more often than not. I don't have any problem fighting you either." I said and it came out a lot more hotly than I'd wanted.

The small crowd parted as Bakugou shoved his way through. "That was before I leveled up, you first floor boss. I've seen through your cheap tricks, now you're nothing but another grind mob. I can run through a thousand of you without breaking a sweat."

"How about you prove that right now." I said, ready to fight- even if it had to be in the hallway.

"Why should I? You proved that you weren't worth my time when you tucked your tail between your legs and ran out of the stadium." Bakugou goaded.

Inasa stepped infront of Bakugou before I did, and even though a year of what must have been ridiculous training had turned Bakugou into a machine of muscle and added half a foot to his height Inasa still loomed over him, dwarfing him in comparison.

In our time together Inasa and I had become really good friends- best friends- and in that time I had barely ever seen him look anything but happy and energetic. It was hard to look at him as threatening when he just seemed so happy all the time. Now he had a scary expression, and that struck home for me that for all his sillyness at times Inasa was still the number one student in our class.

"… I would be careful about starting anything now, Bakugou. Unless you want a repeat of the finals." Inasa said, reminding Bakugou of his loss. Inasa had come through for me, just like he'd said he would, but I didn't get any satisfaction from knowing that it was him who'd taught Bakugou a lesson and not me.

"Tch." Bakugou tutted, his cocky expression gone. "That was nothing but luck. Next time I'll crush you under my heel."

"Try something now and we'll find out for sure if it was luck or not." Inasa said, shadowing over him.

Wisely, for once, Bakugou left, Kirishima following after him.

It looked like Bakugou didn't think of me as a rival anymore. Instead Inasa had overnight become the person he was shooting for. I would prove just how wrong he was to write me off when I punched his skull in. That was a promise.

* * *

**T****he scene with Tensei ran longer than I'd expected it to. I know we don't really see much of Tensei in the story proper and I'm not sure of his actual age in the series but I figure eight years isn't too large a gap between him and Tenya. His personality seemed a lot more easy going than Tenya's too, and with the large number of support heroes he was said to have I figured he must be a pretty suave guy and I wrote him as such. I hope it's not too far out the realms of belief- I quite like him as a character, even if we wont be seeing that much of him in the future.**

**And yep, Mirio is Izuku's mentor. It was sort of implied who he was when we first came across him but I don't think I actually mentioned who he was. That Mirio would want to mentor someone seems a given seeing as how happy he was to teach class 1A, and since the apprenticeship program (if that is what it's called) has been discontinued as far as Mirio knows finding a younger student to mentor when he can is the best thing he can do. It's also a way that he feels he can truly thank Sir Nighteye, by following his example. He'll try to be around to help guide Izuku when he can.**

**Eijiro is one of my favourite characters in canon, so I tried to be really delicate about not making him seem like some jerkoff but he also came across- to me, at least- as someone who wouldn't be happy to see someone doing something he thought was unsportsmanlike, and bailing out of a tournament for seemingly no reason is definitely something that would piss him off. That he thinks it's because Izuku was scared of Bakugou is a logical conclusion for him- and others- to come to. Hopefully Izuku can correct that assumption as soon as possible- but since Bakugou now has even more reason to work harder it may be a lot harder than he thinks.**

**Also, if you're worried that Izuku is going to sign to some low-class hero you'd be mistaken. Yes, his performance in the last round wasn't the best but most people would be far more impressed by his earlier skill, his showing against the slime villain and the amazing power of his quirk that the thought of letting his talent slip through their fingers would be ridiculous. Aizawa is just a little pissed, is all. **

**And Izuku's hero name will not be Deku.**

_If you liked the story please give it a favorite or follow, or better yet review to let me know what you loved or hated - or best of all, what I can improve on. After all, your feedback is the hot air I need to keep my writerly ego afloat. Thank you :)_


	16. Chapter 16

"You should all have decided on your hero names by now, but for the sake of… satisfying the slower students I'll give you fifteen minutes to make your final choice. Remember, once you decide on your names you'll have to keep it!" Midnight said. She looked no less provocative in her teaching outfit and I wondered just how it was that you could both hate someone and find it difficult to keep yourself from staring at her breasts.

Hormones, my mind supplied. The hormones wouldn't stop me from thinking she was a terrible person, though. "That lady thinks we're back in the sports festival." I grumbled. Inasa gave me a playful swat on the shoulder, chuckling.

The thing was, I'm not sure if it was the naming panic in the hallway on my way to class or the time limit Midnight had supplied but I was suddenly becoming really anxious about the whole thing. What had Mei said when we'd first met? It was about my costume, yes, but now that I thought about it it could be applied to my hero name too. It needed to be more than just functional, it needed to be memorable and significant too. It needed to stand for something, in other words.

Why did Inasa have to be right sometimes?

"Inasa, you didn't give any ideas about what you think my hero name should be. What do you think I should name myself?"

"And I won't do it now either. Your hero name isn't something you can hand off to someone else to choose."

"Come on Inasa, help me out here." I pleaded.

He smirked down at me. "I thought that your hero name didn't matter." He whispered back.

"Don't be a smartass." I hissed. "Yeah, I was wrong okay? Is that what you want me to say?"

"No, but it makes me feel better!" He laughed. Midnight shot me a glare, as if I had been the one laughing.

"Come on Inasa, I really need help here. If I know that witch she'll conveniently have me come up first just to screw me over."

"Sorry Izuku. I wish I could help you, but it wouldn't be right for me to choose your name for you. I'd be pretty annoyed if someone chose my hero name for me, to be honest."

I sighed, seeing his point. He should stop making sense. It was just weird. "Okay, okay. But you should at least give me some advice for me. I have no clue how to choose a hero name."

Inasa put his hand under his chin, thinking. "Hmmm…" he muttered, deep in thought.

"Well…" He said. "I think your hero name sort of says what type of hero you want to be. It's a target you want to work towards."

That sounded like nonsense. Interesting nonsense, but still nonsense. "So what, I'm supposed to name myself_ greatest and most handsome of all time_?" I asked, more annoyed than trying to be funny.

"No, I think that would be me. Look, you should choose a name that people can support and that says something about you and who you want to be. Something that suits you."

"You're sending me a lot of mixed messages, Inasa. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that. It's like you're asking me who I am, that's just a load of philosophical gibberish to me."

"I think you're a fighter of the people." Inasa said.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Look, what I mean is that you don't really have your own quirk, you know? I mean, you do, but you know what I mean. Right?" Inasa said, sounding more and more confused by his own train of thought as he spoke.

I actually did, and it sent my mind whirling with possibilities. "Yeah. I do. Thanks Inasa." I said punching his shoulder in thanks. I'll admit I put more force in it than would have usually been friendly but Inasa laughed it off. If anything my hand had gotten the worst of the exchange, his shoulder felt like stone.

"Time's up." Midnight announced. She had been staring at the clock on the wall for most of the class so far, barely acknowledging us. "Instead of going by alphabetical order like I planned to I think it would be a better idea if you had your class president come up and show you how it's done. Lead by example right? Now Izuku, would you mind coming up to this _witch_ and showing the class how it's done?" She said, pearly-white teeth showing.

I gulped. She had overheard me. I sometimes forgot that Pro-Hero's tended to have better senses than the average person. Of course she'd overheard me. "S-sure." I said.

The walk to the front of the class felt like a walk to the gallows. I stretched it out as long as I could, slowly making my way over to Midnight.

"Hurry it up Midoriya. You can't bail on the the class like you did the tournament, you know." Midnight joked, referencing the festival. Or, well, it sounded like a joke but if you asked me there was something predatory in there. She was still pissed at me, I think.

I didn't dare take any longer.

"Finally." She huffed impatiently. "What's your name going to be?"

I straightened up and stared her right in the eye, clearing my throat. "Proxy. My hero name is going to be Proxy."

* * *

"You were playing us for a fiddle is all I'm saying, prez." Sero complained. "There's no way you came up with a name that cool in fifteen minutes. No way. I can't believe I actually tried helping you out."

I shrugged, smiling. "What can I say? My brain is just that good."

"Hey, I helped too!" Inasa complained.

Since they were both smiling I guessed they weren't actually upset. I smiled along too, appreciating the moment. "We'll be seeing you Sero. Inasa and I are going to be hanging out in the cafeteria and that traitor Mei is going to be there too. I don't think you want to be acquainted with her special brand of crazy just yet."

Sero gave a thumbs up. "No problem, man. I'm supposed to be meeting Koji anyway. He makes the best sweets, though you couldn't picture it by looking at him. He usually brings me a few every day, so I can test 'em."

As predicted when Inasa and I got to the cafeteria Mei was already in my favorite, out of the way table, blueprints spread all over the top.

We got our lunches and I plopped a laden tray infront of her- a chocolate milk and two huge slices of chocolate cake. It wasn't exactly a balanced diet but all of my attempts to get the one-track minded inventor to eat something _without_ chocolate had so far been rejected. Inasa was an enabler and wouldn't help me out in getting Mei to add vegetables into her diet. Maybe he was smarter than I thought and saw it for the pointless endeavor it had been so far.

As usual Mei didn't even stop in her mutterings, note-taking and schematic drawing but grabbed at things off her tray without looking, shoving them into her face without a shred of dignity. It had been this sight that had let me see past her outwardly pretty features to see the grotesque monster beneath.

"Yum." She said, licking her fingers when the last piece was downed. "So, Proxy, huh? Not the best name but I guess Hatsume Physical is going to have to work around it. I'll do some minor redesigns to your-"

"How do you already know about his new hero name?" Inasa asked. "He just came up with it last period and I haven't told you yet."

Mei waved him off. "Oh, the security room here is a joke. But like I was saying, I'll be redesigning your outfit slightly to better suit the name. I think the red and white can still work but there should at the least be some identifying features added." She said, overlooking the blatant admission of trespassing.

I ignored her, eating my food and taking notes on the surrounding quirks. There was a machine control quirk that fascinated me. I'd been trying to work my head around it's possible uses for at least three lunches by now.

"… I think he's upset at you for something." Inasa said.

Damn right I was. She had not only blown me off in the second round but she'd actually tried targeting me along with the rest of the riff-raff.

"You think so?" Mei asked him.

"Yes. He looks pretty upset."

Mei actually looked up from her papers, giving me a once over. Then she went right back to her papers. "Looks constipated to me. I'll tell his mom to start adding fiber tablets to his oatmeal."

My eyebrow twitched. That she knew I'd been having oatmeal for breakfast recently was evidence enough that she either had my house bugged or she really had an in with my mom. Knowing my mom the second wasn't out of the question. And I wasn't constipated, damn it!

"No, I'm pretty sure he's upset with you. I can tell."

"I don't know… What could I have done?" Mei asked.

"Maybe leaving your friend to fend for himself wouldn't have him feeling a lot of affection for you." I grit out.

"Test subject. You're my test subject."

"I thought I was your assistant. You said you'd bumped me up when I helped you prepare for the exam." I said. Why I was actually getting invested in the titles she gave me I had no clue.

"No. An assistant is usually around. I haven't seen you in the development studio in three days." She said, still working on her blueprints. I could tell that she was genuinely upset though, which was weird.

Oh. She was upset at me too. Damn. This was like some sort of uno reversal maneuver. "I couldn't exactly come over on the day of the sports festival, could I? And I was training before then."

"I came here after the sports festival. Since you left before the thing was over- without telling me a thing- I don't see why you couldn't have come over too."

"I'm not having this argument with you, Mei." I sighed.

"Our mk2 Power Suit is just laying there, half complete. I can't believe you would just abandon our baby like that." Mei continued, ignoring me. A girl passing by actually dropped her tray in shock, only hearing the tail end of Mei's reply.

"It's not like that! That's what she calls her inventions." I tried to explain. The original powersuit had almost broken my spine. Apparently Mei hadn't installed a feature that prevented the suit from rotating all the way around- even with a user still in it. If she hadn't jabbed the kill switch in time I'd have had a hell of a time explaining to my mom why my torso was the wrong way round. Or more likely why it was I'd have to be bedridden for the foreseeable future. It had been an easy fix though- I didn't know much code but my days spent trying to find hidden content in game files had come in handy.

"Oh, it's _my_ invention now, is it?" Mei seemed even more upset, jaggedly drawing up the blueprints for a torture device- that should have caught my attention earlier, now that I thought about it. "You weren't saying that when you chose the hydraulics and fuel pump, were you? Now mk2 is having power supply problems and you aren't around to help."

"Mei, give me a break. You know how hard I've been training."

She huffed and ignored me.

"Besides, didn't you say I wasn't smart enough to make a reliable partner?"

She still ignored me.

I sighed again. "Have you thought about increasing the diameter of the fuel line?" I asked.

"Yes. It's not a fuel supply fault." She said.

"Hydraulics?"

"No. It's a bit more powerful than the mk1 but it's fundamentally the same system."

"A software issue then." I said definitively.

"No, I've tested every line of code. It all functions perfectly."

I was stumped. "After class. I'll come to the Development Studio after class."

With that decided Mei immediately perked up, actually rolling up her schematics and non-too gently shoving them into a bag. Then she plopped her head on her hands and just stared at me, smiling. I shivered.

"A-alright then. That's settled."

"Hey, we're hanging out in Golden Week right?" Inasa asked.

"Of course. Aizawa is an asshole anyway, there's no way I'm following his philosophy if that's what it'll turn me into. Even if we have to meet after training I'll still make sure we enjoy at least a little bit of Golden Week. I know this arcade that stays open till-"

"I'll pass. I have too many babies that need making." Mei said.

I frowned. "You weren't invited. I was speaking to Inasa."

"On second thought, everyone needs to have at least a few hours to unwind. I don't want to visit the arcade though. You'll have to come up with something that entertains me!" Mei decided.

"If the pro-hero I'm going to be interning under is cool he might give me a day off, and if yours is the same we might be able to arrange a trip to Sunayama for the day. A day at the beach would be fun." I continued, pretending I hadn't heard her.

"Who are you planning to intern under anyway?" Inasa asked, interested.

"I have no idea." I said, frowning. "I know Aizawa said that my showing in the festival won't put me in a good light but I still think I can get someone useful. In a perfect world I'd like someone who could help me get really strong really fast but I think that's just wishful thinking at best." I laughed.

"No!" Inasa said, pounding the table. "You shouldn't settle for anything less than the best! I'm sure that there's a Pro-Hero out there who could help you get way stronger, and I won't rest until you agree to keep looking until you find that special someone!"

I stared blankly. "I think you're getting your motivational speeches mixed up, Inasa. I'm getting an internship, not married."

"If you have anyone but the best trainer in Japan as your teacher for Golden Week you'll be letting Hatsume Physical Industries down." Mei said, adding fuel to Inasa's fire.

I felt like ripping my hair out. "It doesn't work like that! I can't force people to send me offers. I'll try to take the best offer that comes my way but after the third round of the tournament I think a lot of people are going to have doubts about whether I'll be the right fit for them."

"You'd better get the best trainer in Japan, Izuku, or I won't be happy." Mei said.

I just took my now empty tray and walked to the nearest bin to get away from my crazy friends.

* * *

A pile of letters covered my bed. Instead of what I'd feared would come to pass- a handful of meager offers from low-class heroes- I had been swarmed with offers from all over the place. There had been so many letters waiting for me at home that my mom had been forced to throw them all into a sack. Any other student would be beside themselves at this bountiful opportunity but I wasn't all that psyched.

I had gotten an offer- a very handsome offer- by the number two hero himself. Endeavour had promised to teach me martial arts and get a personal quirk doctor for my private use, one who specialized in analyzing quirks and who could help me figure out any possible further applications of my quirk. I had gotten an offer from Best Jeanist, from Death Arms, from Mirko and from many more whose names filled the news sites and youtube channels.

But I hadn't received the offer I wanted.

The offer I wanted, the one from All Might was nowhere to be seen. I had hoped that maybe my performance in class had changed his opinion of me, but I supposed that first impressions really lasted. I knew that I should have expected it, I hadn't been expecting even this much in the first place, but I still felt disappointed.

"Damn it." I said aloud.

It stung that the only hero I looked up to thought I wasn't worth his time but moping wasn't a good response. The school wanted our final decisions first thing tomorrow morning- nobody wanted to waste their time waiting on a student to accept. That wouldn't usually be a problem since most students only got one offer, maybe two or three. I couldn't be sure of the exact figure, since I hadn't counted it, but it wouldn't have been too ridiculous to assume I had gotten at least a hundred. Probably double that.

And so I needed to start working on bringing the pile down to a more manageable set of options. Offers from heroes I had never heard of were tossed onto the floor, others who I had overheard mentioned were at least given the courtesy of a cursory glance. Really interesting offers were left on the bed.

In far less time than I had thought the whole process would take I had cut down my list of offers to three. Endeavour, Best Jeanist and Mirko.

These were the three Pro-Heroes who I thought had the most to offer me. Best Jeanist, though he hadn't offered anything directly, was one of the best heroes Japan had to offer and his skill at molding interns was well known. In the past three years he had made a point of taking in the worst behaved students he could get his hands on and had quickly molded them into exemplary, clean cut students. The average grade of a student who came out the other end of a week long temporary internship with Best Jeanist went up by twenty points.

But after some intense deliberation I decided against it. For one thing the main growth he seemed to provide was moral, not physical and I wanted to get as strong as possible in the week to come. Anyone who couldn't help me achieve that wasn't worth the time.

Mirko was an odd one… She hadn't, as far as I knew, ever apprenticed a student for Golden Week before. She was also remarkably skilled at hand to hand combat, the very thing I wanted to improve the most besides my physical shape which I felt was coming along at a really decent clip as it was. But I dropped her too. There just wasn't enough information on her for me to decide that she was a good choice as a teacher. Just being a great hero didn't mean that you would be a good teacher.

And so it seemed that Todoroki's dad would be teaching me for Golden Week. It wasn't a bad idea to train under the second best hero in Japan, even if Inasa thought he was an asshole I still figured that he would be very helpful to me. Even if only for the insights into _Mimicry_ the quirk doctor he offered to provide would give me.

But…

I couldn't help but pick up one of the letters I had tossed to the floor. It was the rattiest looking letter of the bunch, and it was also the one with the least amount of information. I had never even heard of the hero who sent it. But for some reason I couldn't help but be intrigued.

_**If you wish to become strong come to 22 Clover Street at 5am on the first day of Golden Week.**_

That was all that was written on the yellowed, crumpled paper. There was no talk of training plans, no offers to have access to a quirk doctor, nothing except what must have been an empty promise by a hero who didn't even come up on a quick search.

"I must be insane." I said.

"What was that Izuku, darling?" Mom called from the kitchen, the smells of tonight's curry wafting invitingly.

"Nothing Mom."

* * *

21 Clover Street was a broken down warehouse in the industrial area a few miles away from my apartment. It looked like the sort of place drug dealings went down. The walls were covered with graffiti, windows were broken in, patches of weeds broke through the cracked asphalt and the place stank of piss and liquor.

"I'm not just stupid, I'm a fucking idiot…" What had possessed me to think this would be a good idea? Why couldn't I have just been sensible and gone for Endeavour's offer?

But it was too late to pull out now. I had already accepted the offer and handed in my mom's signature to the secretary. Everything had been arranged. There was no way I would be training under Endeavour now. Whoever this guy was, I really hoped he wasn't completely talking out of his ass.

"Hello?" I called, knocking on the rusted warehouse door. My knock echoed through the building. Had this all been a prank of some sort? A way to screw me out of an apprenticeship by the UA staff? No. That was way too irrational. Even if I felt some sort of way about some of the teachers I couldn't deny that UA wanted nothing but to produce the very best heroes Japan had to offer, and if you took a look at their track record they were pulling it off too. Even if some of them were biased bastards there was no way they would pull something like this.

"Is anyone even here?!" I shouted, banging on the door. "You told me to be here at 5am, damn it!"

"Please, come inside." A powerful voice called from inside. The voice, despite coming across as very respectful and dependable, terrified me.

"O-okay…" I called back. I pulled on the handle and with a creak the rusty door opened. Inside it was complete darkness. I ignored the trembling of my hands and the inexplicable urge to run far, far away from this warehouse.

"Make your way back here." The deep voice beckoned.

I followed the sound. "Where are you?" I asked. I couldn't see much more than an arms length ahead.

"Right in front of you." The voice said and then he was. Out of nowhere a purple blob appeared and was immediately replaced by a suited gentleman with a juggernaut physique.

I jolted back in surprise.

"My apologies, I didn't intend to surprise you. Well met, young Mr Midoriya." He said, holding out a hand.

There was a black mask that covered his face but his powerful, all encompassing voice wasn't at all weakened by it. I took his hand, doing my best to stop it's shivering.

"Hi…" I said lamely.

"Now, I must apologize for misleading you. My name is not Grey Hawk, but All for One." I could _feel_ his grin "And I am the leader of the League of Villains."

I yanked my hand out of his grasp and put my fists up. To think- this man was the one responsible for the USJ incident? What could he want with me?

Then, too late, I felt for his quirk.

I couldn't stop the gasp that escaped me. Dozens- no, hundreds of quirks. Inside this one man were more quirks than I had ever felt gathered in one place. Every sort of body enhancement, element creation or manipulation, even control over space… He had it all. But larger than any of those was a quirk all too familiar to me.

"You copy quirks?"

"I do indeed, and a lot more permanently besides. And you need to put more weight on your back foot and keep your elbows closer to your sides Mr Midoriya. Your fighting stance is terrible." All for One said bluntly.

"You want to copy my quirk… That's why you made that letter- why you made me come all the way out here to this abandoned area, far away from help." And I had fallen right into his hands. I wouldn't be surprised if he had managed to place some sort of mental manipulation on that letter, something that would guarantee that I'd accept his offer.

All for One laughed, a booming laugh that fit someone of his apparent status. "And just why would I want to do that?" he asked. "You should know better than most that I have no need for your quirk."

"So what you're saying is that the ability to combine quirks doesn't interest you at all?" I asked surprised. After saying it I wanted to slap myself. Tempt the man, why don't you?

"Hmm. I would be lying if I said it didn't interest me at all. But there are some drawbacks to using your quirk that I couldn't accept in my current state. I am in enough pain as it is without magnifying it every time I wanted to replicate a quirk. Even you needed a decade to reduce the pain, by increasing your pain tolerance. I do not have the time left to sink into that project, nor would it really improve my strength much. What I lack in being able to combine I make up for with sheer variety, wouldn't you say?" He said, amused. His mask, I suddenly noted, seemed to be a respirator that aided with his breathing.

The pain I felt when copying some quirks was still pretty intense even now, especially my recently discovered ability to combine. He was right about variety too. What could I do if I had the ability to permanently copy quirks? What if I had twenty or even fifty quirks on hand at any time? I would have salivated at the thought, if I wasn't in such a dangerous situation at the moment.

"Then what could you want from me? Why did you bring me here? Do you plan to kill me, to take revenge for that hand fetish guy's arm?"

"If I wanted to kill you, young man, I would teleport to your apartment complex and vaporize the building. It would take me no more than twenty seconds, I assure you, and would take very little effort on my part. If I did it late enough at night you wouldn't even be awake to realize your danger. You would simply cease to exist."

I was properly, genuinely terrified by this point, in a way I had never before been. A way that I had never thought possible. I had never considered the idea that anyone could be _too_ powerful, but to be able to turn up anywhere on the face of the earth and within a moment eradicate any trace of a building, to kill dozens of people in one sweep and without even a hint of strain…

"Th-then what do you want from me? What could I do that would interest you?"

"All I want is what I promised you in that little letter of mine. I wish to make you strong. Stronger than any hero before or after. Certainly stronger than that little blonde who you seem to hate so badly."

I managed to find my backbone again. "And just why would you want that? Why would you want to train me? Do you think that I wont hunt you down when I become a Pro-Hero?" I asked.

All for One seemed completely unfazed by the threat. Then again, if I were him I wouldn't be bothered by much either. "My reasoning's are my own. All you need to know is that if you accept my offer by the end of this week you will no longer be the weakling you are now. You will be transformed, and well on your way to being the strongest. All you need to do is accept. And you need not worry about refusing me. I am a reasonable man. If you decide that you would rather remain weak than to accept my offer I will leave you and your mother alone, though I cannot give my word that the league will leave you to your own devices. Little Tomura is rather upset at you."

"I…" This was a large decision. If I accepted this offer I would be betraying the trust of my friends in UA, I would be keeping secrets from Inasa and Mei- not to mention my mother. I would be allying myself with the very people that would have seen Aizawa, All Might and my classmates dead. Even if I wasn't part of their group officially I would still become involved, still be complicit.

"I accept…"

In the end, the results were what mattered. How I got there, as long as it remained secret, wouldn't mean a thing. And when I became the next great hero, the next All Might, I would crush the League of Villains and scatter their ashes to the wind and be rid of this stain for good. But for now I needed this- I needed All for One's help.

* * *

**I hoped you enjoyed the lunch scene in the UA cafeteria as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was initially planned to be completely different but Mei just seemed to leap off the screen to take over everything. I think it also shows a bit more of the dynamic between the three. Izuku tries to get her to be a bit more normal but is also annoyed at her antics and intrusion into his privacy. Mei has zero boundaries, very little clue of social norms, is obsessed with inventing and can be very possessive- both of her inventions and her friends, even if she would never admit to feeling any sort of emotion toward Izuku and Inasa she is still happy that they're there. Inasa can switch between being the sensible big brother who looks out for all of them and this incredibly in-the-moment carefree, childish and silly guy. I'm really loving how the group dynamic is shaping. Hopefully I get more chances to explore it in the future.**

**And yes, All for One is going to be training Izuku. It wouldn't exactly make sense for him to train with Gran Torino would it? Be prepared though, Izuku will be changing a lot in this week to come, but there won't be any Deus Ex nonsense going on. All his changes if not foreshadowed early on in the story or momentarily noted at points in the story will be well-explained and reasonable. Some of you actually thought of the main mechanism that'll be driving this in the reviews.**

**That Izuku accepted training under the leader of the League of Villains says a lot about his current mindset, and it isn't exactly a step in the right direction. After showing that he can be a very empathetic person and beginning to realize just why he wanted to be a hero in the first place he is losing sight of the tenets a hero has to follow in a mad quest for revenge and power. And being power hungry is how a lot of villains classically became such. It's a one step forward, two steps back type thing. I hope that you've seen it incoming though because Izuku's train of thought recently has once more started to become more aggressive in general and derisive to people 'lesser' than him. A reference to students as 'riff-raff' in this chapter is one example of that.**

**Making improvements in life isn't always a straight shot up and it makes sense that Izuku will have to learn things the hard way. Hopefully he doesn't stray so far off course that he can't get back on it though.**

I_f you enjoyed this chapter or the story so far please leave a review, favorite or follow. A rough calculation showed that each chapter takes me around four to five hours to finish. And no, I don't type very slowly. Multiple renditions and updates to my outline, editing and research take up the bulk of the time. Writing is merely the tip of the iceberg. So if you appreciate what's beneath the surface It'd put a lot of steam into my ship if you let me know- what works, what doesn't and how to improve. Thanks :)_


	17. Chapter 17

"_Mimicry_ does not copy quirks- it _replicates_ quirks."

Though he was the evil leader of a league of villains All for One was at least straight and to the point. Our lesson had begun immediately, the lights in the warehouse having lit when I accepted, revealing that in contrast to it's unappealing exterior the warehouse was actually rather well equipped. The floor was a glazed concrete that shone, appearing recently polished. Off to one corner was a basic gym, complete with weights, a boxing bag and an exercise bike.

The main area of the warehouse was completely open and where we now stood, the rest- what I guessed was nearly a third of the warehouse floor- was completely cut off from this side, a brick wall dividing it. If I hadn't carefully checked the building's length I might have assumed that this side was all there was.

There must have been another entrance to that side on the other side of the building. I guess All for One didn't want me poking around back there, who knew what crazed experiments the man was doing.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Don't expect me to spoon feed all the answers to you. Intellectual laziness is perhaps more insidious than the garden variety, couch potato type. With the insight I've given you, what can you come up with?" All for One said pointedly.

If I were to take his word as fact that my quirk only replicated quirks, what would that mean? "I think… It would mean that there was some aspect of my quirk that instinctively inspects a quirk within it's range, that it uses it's own interpretation of that quirk to alter my own physiology to approximate it."

The realization had come suddenly, and with it a lot of things started to click. The fact that my first time copying a quirk would be the most painful, that it would also be the weakest approximation of the quirk and that it would slowly change with each iteration was further evidence.

"I can also influence that automatic process somewhat, by my own desires."

The blackened angelic wings I had made from my junior high classmate's bat-like membranous wings was a stark proof, but there were almost as many examples of modification as quirks I regularly used.

"If I were to guess, I could speed up that modification process with practice. And the fact that my body can sort of remember quirks, that it becomes easier and easier to copy a quirk with repeated copies must mean that my body itself is extremely adaptable by nature. In fact it might be more factual to say that instead of copying quirks I only use surrounding quirks to adapt my own body."

All for One was beaming beneath the mask, I knew. "Go on. You're doing a lot better than I had expected you to. I want to see how far you can extrapolate." He said, waving a hand for me to continue.

I thought for a bit. "Maybe I could… Increase the potential of a quirk? I mean, if I instinctively increase the ability of a copied quirk until it completely matches, or at least comes close to matching, a specific quirk who's to say I couldn't take it further? That I couldn't enhance the strength of a quirk far beyond it's original capacity?"

"You've got it." All for One snapped his fingers, making a booming _crack_ that set my ears ringing. "I'm really impressed. It's this facet of your quirk that we will be working on this week."

I frowned, rubbing my ears. "But there must be other parts of my quirk we can work on. My _fusing_ seems like it has the most potential. I could copy parts of quirks and make something far greater, far more terrifying."

"But you'd only be able to use those fusions if all the requisite quirks were around. Take your _jetpack_ for example. It has tremendous potential for speed and maneuverability, a top tier quirk. But how often could you use it in real life situations? To use it you need to have three people at hand, Bakugou Katsuki, Inasa Yoarashi and Tenya Iida. How often do you think that will happen in the future? And how often will you find yourself conveniently in the same stadium so that they stay in range and you don't go falling after a hundred meter flight?"

He shook his head. "No. Your fusion has great potential, but only if you become good enough to make new fusions on the fly with any random quirks that happen to be around- and if you can immediately empower those quirks enough that they are actually useful. And if I am to get you as strong as possible in a week the only possible route is for you to become capable of actively, quickly influencing the quirks you mimic. Working on any other facet of your quirk would just get in the way."

I felt that had the topic at hand been anything else All for One would not be as animated, nor as accommodating of interruptions and silly questions. It must have taken him years to get a hang of his own copying quirk, he must have by necessity become fascinated by the intricacies of quirks just like I was. I wondered if he kept notes of quirks too?

Something struck me though. "Well, how am I supposed to actively control my quirk?"

"Since I've never had to deal with that I have no idea what advice to give."

With all the hundreds of quirks he must have learnt to use in his life I found it really difficult to believe that he had no idea how I could go about doing that, but I couldn't exactly call him out on it, could I? All I could do was give him a skeptical look.

But still, our conversation had sent me wondering about the limits of my quirk, and my mind was awhirl with possibilities.

"If I only need quirks around to manipulate my own body, would it be possible for me to replicate quirks without any quirks around?" If that was true it would mean I'd never need to concern myself about needing to be around other people, or agonize over what quirks I should copy in combat.

"No." All For One said bluntly.

"Why not?" I asked petulantly

"You ask a lot of questions." All for One said "Think I am trying to mislead you?"

Maybe he was. I didn't know why he wanted to train me, but it was probable he expected me to join his little group of villains. He would want to train me enough so that I felt indebted to him but not so much that I couldn't genuinely become a threat if I refused.

"I can read your thoughts, you know." All for One coolly said.

I jerked back. "Well, that doesn't mean it isn't true, right? And stay out of my head!"

He shook his head. "No. Feel fry to try if you wish, but it won't work out. Your quirk has the potential to mould itself to any other, but without the quirk to supply the initial shape you are incapable of moulding yourself."

I jerked upright, nodding my head in understanding. "So, I'm like a television!"

All for One stopped. "What?"

"I'm like a television. I have the potential to show any picture, any arrangement of colors and sounds but without a channel to stream I'd just be blank!"

"That is… One way of looking at it, I suppose."

"It's a great way of looking at it!" I replied.

"Enough. I have but little time to spend with you, I'd rather not spend it chatting pointlessly."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Two hours." He said, showing two fingers. "That is all the time I will give to you each day. One hour each morning at this hour, another each evening at six pm."

"But what will I do for the rest of the day?" I wondered. I was sure that All for One could help me become far stronger in a week than I could have hoped to, but how could I become that strong with only two hours of instruction each day?

"You should know that your main weakness currently is not your quirk. It is your body. That is not something I need to be around for- nor do I have the patience to watch a teenager huff and puff all day. You need to learn how to improve on your own. If you decide to blow off your training for the rest of the day between our sessions and have an enjoyable Golden Week you can do so."

There's no way I would be doing that. "I don't want to play around. I want to become stronger."

"Then train. What more do you want from me?" He asked "But to appease your need for training I've made some allowances. You must have seen the training equipment in the corner. I could hear you fawning over it earlier."

I blushed.

"And I have something far more beneficial as well, something you'll no doubt found extremely useful." He snapped his fingers and I widened my eyes in surprise.

"Ah. You've noticed him already. That is good. I'm sure you'll know what to do with that."

Within the field of my quirk was the most powerful regeneration quirk I had ever felt, even more powerful than Noumu's. "I can recover from any training in just a few minutes…" I said, amazed. With this I could train five, even ten times a day and gain in just a single day what would have taken me weeks…

All for One laughed at my amazed look. "Yes, I'm sure you'll enjoy making use of that."

* * *

With a squelch All for One appeared back in the warehouse. The digital clock on the wall read exactly 6pm, the exact time he'd said. He seemed like a very punctual man, how someone could be so gentlemanly and at the same time be a notorious villain was something hard for me to wrap my head around.

"It is time for our lesson once more, Mr Midoriya. Let me see if you have made any headway on manipulating your quirk."

"Yes…" I said, heaving myself off the floor. Every step towards All for One felt heavy, and it wasn't because my muscles were sore. Any muscle damage had been repaired dozens of times so far today. I didn't know what was going on but I felt incredibly tired and worn down, and not in a way I had felt before. It was a tiredness that seemed to echo out from my bones.

"I'm here. I'm ready to start the lesson." I was so weary that even speaking was a momentous effort.

All for One just quietly stared. "No. You're not. Not as haggard looking as you are. You thought you could do several months worth of training this week and still eat only a week's worth of food?" All for One asked, immediately diagnosing me.

"I-" What was I supposed to say? That I had forgotten? That I had been so taken by the training and by the regeneration quirk that it had completely slipped my mind, that I had forgotten to eat at all?

And even if I wanted to, how was I supposed to pay for all that food? My mom was having enough trouble keeping me fed with my recent routine as it was, how could I expect her to cook two dozen meals for me every day? How was I even supposed to stomach it all?

A wad of cash, thick as my arm, landed in-front of me. It was all ten-thousand yen notes, crisp and new.

"Take this. It should be enough to cover any food and drinks you'll need for the week. I recommend you look up nutrition plans for bodybuilders or athletes and multiply those meals as necessary. Don't skimp out on supplements either, you'll be needing any edge you can get."

"I don't want this." I said, nudging the notes away from me in disgust. "This is dirty money. Who knows what sick things you did to get this? It's wrong, I don't want it."

The money lifted off the ground, levitating within arms reach.

"You need the money. It is no trouble for me to provide it. Take it."

"No. I don't want it." I shoved the floating bundle. It came right back.

"Don't be foolish. You have already accepted my training, if you don't eat a sufficient quantity of food there is no way for you to recover enough to make full use of _Cell Revival_. Don't let this opportunity slip through your fingers because of some misplaced pride. This is not the place for that."

I halted. This chance… To make the same sort of leap in strength in a week that would take most people six months or more… Could I really throw that chance away just because I didn't like the way it presented itself? A hyperbolic time chamber, that is what this was. Maybe it was just the fact that Inasa had recently gotten me watching the anime again but I thought the comparison was apt. Imagine being able to train for every hour of the day and not just recover immediately after the workout but immediately after each exercise… To be stronger with each set, with each rep… It was the sort of thing that would have been considered a ridiculous pipe dream before quirks arose, but the now the impossible had become possible, and I was being given that chance.

I took the cash.

"I'll pay this back someday, I promise."

* * *

I was headed back home, feeling a lot better after a massive meal at a nearby diner that usually catered to the factory workers who worked in the area around the warehouse. I'd left the waitress stunned at how much I ate. Twelve plates laden high had disappeared- and I had actually held back a bit, knowing that mom was making me katsudon for my first day of Golden Week.

"Must be a quirk…" One of the burly workers in overalls had said to his buddy.

I had given the waitress a rather generous tip too. I figured that since it was crime money anyway I should spend it generously. There was more than enough to easily cover any food I needed to buy.

All for One's admittedly pretty hands off methods and his admonishing that I had to be the one who was in control of my own training, that I was supposed to make my own decisions had given me the kick in the pants I needed. I shouldn't wait around for a teacher to show up and show me the secrets of the universe. I needed to go out there and take it for myself.

And right now I needed more time at the _Warehouse_.

The more I trained the better results I would get. Even now my arms were filled with a vigor and strength significantly greater than even just this morning. With _Cell Revival_ sleep became optional.

"If I were to stay at the warehouse for the rest of the week…" I muttered, scribbling frantically in my notebook.

"_Musutafu Line._" The muffled voice of the conductor came through the speaker.

I got off, still writing. I nearly walked into a lady and tripped as I got off the train but I couldn't seem to stop myself from writing, from thinking. I wondered why I hadn't kept up my note taking- it let me think more deeply about things than I could have hoped to before. Ideas came fast and furious, corrections were easy and possible outcomes were jotted too slowly for the rapid pace of my mind, let free from the shackles of conventional train of thought and free to think in abstracts and connections and random patterns.

My writing also let me know that the main problem I'd have with staying at the warehouse 24/7 wouldn't be getting enough food or preparing it but just how I was going to explain all of this to my mom.

I couldn't tell her the truth, obviously.

"H_ey, mom, I'm training under the most powerful villain Japan has ever seen. But it's okay because even if he asks me to I won't be joining his organization of crazed villains, some of whom were involved in sending me to the hospital a few weeks back._" Nope, that wouldn't go over well.

Mom had, just as expected, prepared a meal fit for a king. Katsudon, my favorite. There was roast beef with potatoes and rice, a chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. Even a chocolate shake… Wait…

"Mom, did Hatsumei tell you to make all this?" I finally asked, exasperated.

Mom at least had the decency to look embarrassed at being caught out, unlike Mei would when I scolded her over this later. "She's just trying to help you out, Izuku. I don't know why you're so upset about it."

I ground my teeth. "Mom, she literally told you what sort of underwear to get me last week. Of course I'd be upset!"

My mom cackled. "I think she has a crush on you, honey. You shouldn't play with a girl's heart like that."

That invention obsessed girl? I don't think there was space in her heart for a man to fit, beside her next schematic for a robot that would drive you insane and future plans for industrial domination. "Yeah right. I don't understand why you're listening to that girl. I don't even like chocolate that much. I should have figured it out as soon as you brought in the cake, like that's what I should be eating to get in shape."

"It's a high-protein recipe!" Mom defended.

"Yeah… Look, Mom… My mentor wants me to stay over at his place for the rest of the week, so that I can have more time to train. I was planning to head back there after this." I said, jumping right into it.

"No." Mom said, her smile looking more forced. She grabbed my plate and headed to the kitchen. "I'll just fetch your chocolate ice cream."

I followed her into the kitchen. She was already grabbing the ice-cream from the fridge, a High-Protein brand, Chocolate Brownie Flavor. "What do you mean no, Mom?"

"You don't need to stay over at that_ man's_ place to train with him Izuku." She said, taking a huge scoop.

I grabbed her arm. To my surprise it was shaking slightly. "Mom, what are you talking about? If I stay over I'll get a few hours more training. Just getting over there took me nearly an hour. I had to get before 4am this morning. It would be a lot easier if I just stayed over for the week. It's like a training retreat. I'm sure there are a ton of kids in my class who are doing the same thing."

"Well, you're not them!" She snapped, pulling her arm out of my grasp. "You don't need to stay there to train. I didn't hear anything about that when you first talked about it, so why does he just mention this all of a sudden? No, I wont be letting you stay over there. That's final. Now sit back down at the table. I'll be bringing your ice-cream, just as soon as I top it with nuts and chocolate syrup."

I was getting desperate. I'd figured mom would be a bit upset, but I hadn't thought for a moment that she would try to stop me from going altogether.

"Mom, please. This could be one the best chances for me to grow as a hero, I can't pass this up. Please Mom." I begged.

"Why do you have to go? You're getting stronger already, Mei's told me! Maybe you shouldn't even go over to that hero at all. I can get you anything you need. You should just stay here instead! That way you won't need to take the train at all!"

"Mom. You know that won't work. I don't understand why you're being so difficult about this."

"We've only just started to get along, now you don't want me around again…" Mom seemed to break down, eyes tearing.

I wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry mom. But this isn't about wanting to be rid of you, I promise. I'll miss you just as much as you'll miss me. But this is really important to me, and to my future. I need to do this."

She wheezed. "You'll just miss my katsudon." She tearfully joked.

"Maybe." I teased, patting her back. "But I think I'll miss your hugs too."

She pulled away reluctantly. "… Okay… You can go."

"Thanks Mom. I'll call you at least twice a day."

"Thrice. And they'd better be video calls too, so I can tell if you're getting too hurt."

I smiled. Any bruises I got would disappear in minutes so I wasn't bothered. "Okay. I'll get packed after eating."

"I'll do that. You go take a shower, you smell terrible."

Sure enough, five training sessions in a day would leave you smelling pretty bad. Especially since there wasn't a shower at the warehouse.

"Mom, I can do that. You don't need to bother."

"No, let me do this at least."

Sometimes I wondered how I could be related to someone as soft and kind-hearted as my mom. Then I remembered that when she wanted to she could have a stubborn streak just as deep. I knew she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Okay."

"Good." She said, wiping at her eyes. "Now sit at the table, I need to finish the toppings for your ice-cream."

"… I love you, mom." I said, feeling guilty all over again about lying.

* * *

"30% Unlock: Telekenesis!" I called, throwing metal and brick at All for One. He didn't move an inch, the projectiles harmlessly diverting away from him with nary an effort, demonstrating his own mastery over telekenesis.

"It was closer to twenty-two percent, Mr Midoriya. But I'm impressed at how much you've improved so far."

Only two days into my training with All for One and I had already gotten significantly stronger. Every time I looked in the mirror I seemed to have filled out a bit more, broadened my shoulders just a bit. I even seemed a bit taller.

"Thanks. But I'm not through yet! 60% Unlock: Water Manipulation!" The bevy of quirks that All for One brought to our lessons made me feel like a fatty at a Las Vegas buffet, spoiled for choice but still aching to sample everything. Water Manipulation wasn't the quirk's actual name of course, since All for One didn't bother even remembering the names of most of his quirks- must have been nice- but I figured that since it let me control water I could have named it worse. It needed to be called something, right?

Needless to say the water stream , more like a shot from one of those pool toys than anything dangerous, did nothing to All for One, didn't even touch him. "You seem to be able to control that one a lot better. Why is that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. My buddy has a wind manipulation quirk called _Gale Force_, this one just feels similar I guess. It's a lot tougher without a large water source nearby, since I have to gather the condensation in the room to make anything, but I think that it could be pretty dangerous if I was near the ocean or a river or something."

All for One's eyebrows raised. I had come to see that as a sign he was smiling. "That would be right. Now, have you had any success at increasing a quirk's strength beyond one-hundred percent?"

"Not yet…"

"You should speed it up. I can't help you out properly until you've mastered that step."

Even this much, managing to actively gauge the strength of a copied quirk and increase the speed that I could improve it was, to me, a tremendous accomplishment. What sort of monster expected me to master something like that in two days? I was already spending every waking hour training. And with _Cell Revival_ every hour was a waking one.

"Okay. I'll have it down as soon as I can." I acquiesced. I would just have to increase the intensity of my physical training and add more time to training my quirk directly. I wondered if I could do the two simultaneously?

"You can. Practice increasing the speed of your regeneration, actively concentrating where you direct the regeneration and having different parts of your body regenerate at different rates. Enough practice with that will increase the control over your own quirk."

I was thankful for the practical advice, but… "Why do you have to keep doing that? Isn't anything private around you?"

"You make the mistake of assuming that I'm actively trying to see your thoughts. I assure you, I am not terribly interested in the perverse, girl obsessed thoughts of a fifteen year old. Your ramblings on quirks are old news to me and I don't think much of katsudon either. The quirk I possess doesn't allow for any sort of fine control. If someone is nearby I can hear their surface thoughts just as easily as if they were speaking aloud."

"I'm not perverted or girl obsessed!"

All for One raised a brow and I cringed.

"… Don't worry about it. You're a teenage boy, it's expected."

"Please, I don't want to hear this from you." I begged

"For now keep-"

My phone rang, Inasa's name popping on screen. "Just a sec, I've got to answer this…" I said, answering. Hey Inasa, what's up?"

"Izuku! It feels like I haven't seen you in forever, why haven't you called?"

"We text all the time Inasa. And I've been really busy, I'm working really hard to show that bastard Bakugou what's coming to him."

"But it isn't the same…" Inasa whined "Anyway, are you busy right now?"

"Sort of. What is it already?"

"Ah, I wanted to find out when we'll be-"

Then the phone was pulled from my grasp and into the hand of a- _furious_\- All for One. The phone seemed almost toy-like in his gargantuan fist, and it seemed even less realistic when he squashed it into a mess of circuitry and glass shards. "You think that my time is something you can just dismiss for a friendly chat?" He asked.

I was too scared by the sudden pressure coming from him to argue about my broken phone. "I-"

"If that is what you think then perhaps you should consider not coming in tomorrow morning. Really think it through, because I'm not going to waste my effort on someone who isn't giving their all. This lesson is over."

And with that he disappeared in a purple glob, leaving behind my phone- completely fixed once more.

* * *

**I hope this chapter didn't feel too rushed. It seems to me that there was a whole lot of explaining going on in the first half but I don't think it stretches the realms of possibility and I certainly tried to keep it all as succinct as possible, though I will agree that it doesn't make for very riveting reading it does lay the groundwork for Izuku's growth. **

**The scene of his going back home was supposed to be even longer and cover a few other preparatory things but that would have been a bit too much, I think. It also shows quite a bit more of Inko's psyche. **

**There will be some actual training bits next chapter but since there is a wide gulf between seeing something in a movie and in the written word there are quite a few things that don't translate as well across both forms of media. The visceral nature of video combined with music makes things like training and fights far more intense than could be attained through words alone.**

**And like a lot of reviewers guessed, Izuku will be using a regeneration quirk to shorten the physical divide between him and the more physically fit members of his class like Bakugou, Inasa and Todoroki. He has done this before, but never with a quirk this powerful or in a situation as repeatable, and not very often. There will be consequences to his abuse of it, though.**

**All for One's two hour a day time-limit is not just because Izuku needs to train his body or that he want's to teach Izuku independance but because he is too battered and weak after his fight with All Might to be around all day and he has other experiments and projects that need his attention. That will be noted soon though.**

**The next chapter will be turned out a bit faster than this one was and there is still a lot to come from Golden Week that I'm excited to show you. The largest divergences from canon will be in this time period, and if my notes are to be believed it's shaping up to be the largest singular arc of the story so far- and the one with the greatest consequences.**

_All that said, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and showed their appreciation in the last chapter. I really enjoy reading all the comments, especially the ones that show a deep understanding of the characters and where the story is headed. _


	18. Chapter 18

The inside of the warehouse was large enough that I had taken to running laps inside instead of out. With the regeneration quirk nearby it was tempting to use it all the time. If healing myself ten times over was better than only once wouldn't healing myself constantly be best? It didn't work that way though.

If I healed up too early I didn't get any better, I'd learned that pretty quickly. Still, I would run to exhaustion and then while I huffed and puffed to get my breath back I'd heal myself back up. This way I could practice trying to alter the quirk like All for One had recommended and work on my endurance at the same time, though I hadn't been having much success so far an the first front even if my stamina was coming along at a steady clip.

The minute or two of healing I got each time I gassed out wasn't enough for me to seriously practice controlling it. Still, it was a good problem to have. The quirk that All for One had found- and I knew it was attached to a person, of course, but I tried not to think too much about that- was absolutely amazing. As long as you ate enough there seemed to be no limit to how fast you could grow.

And boy, was I eating. I frequented the Diner every evening, eating enough for ten grown men or more. I'd also gone shopping at a nearby shopping mall to get the meals that _weren't_ supper. If I was honest the eating was nearly as tough as the training. It might seem that being able to eat without limit was amazing but in practice it was a grueling affair. I felt like I'd done nothing but eat and eat and drink in-between. I'd eat between sets and after each workout, but still it seemed too little so I'd begun to drink shakes instead of water, sipping on a gallon jug of milk and weight-gainer throughout the day. I'd actually have to _refill_ the thing a few times a day, and it tasted like liquid cardboard. When I got bored of the milk and protein cocktail I'd drink juice by the bottle. Water may have been the more economical option but I'd noticed that if I wasn't consuming calories around the clock I'd very quickly start to feel weak.

This remarkable appetite may have seemed like it would quickly drain the cash I'd been given but if anything I had grossly underestimated just how much money it had been. With the cash in hand I'd been able to buy a fridge, a microwave, stovetop and enough groceries to feed a family of three for who knew how long. And I still had nearly a third of the stack left.

"I wonder if it would be a good idea to improve the place some more…" I'd gotten pretty attached to the warehouse. It was my dungeon of sorts, All for One left me to my own devices and even if he hadn't expressly told me otherwise I couldn't get into the other half of the place anyway and unless I broke down the wall I wouldn't be disturbing whatever projects must have been working on over there. I'd actually checked for a way into his side, but even after an hour of checking I couldn't find so much as a window to climb through. All for One probably teleported over there when he wanted.

Like he had been summoned by my thoughts All for One's presence appeared in the warehouse along with another, though it was hard to pin down his quirk under my new teacher's hundreds of quirks.

Though I knew All for One used the other side of the warehouse I had never once felt him over there since starting my training, he had only showed up for our lessons, leaving at exactly an hour after arriving.

Maybe listening in would clue me into whatever the madman was up to in there?

Ever so quietly I tiptoed closer, leaning up against the wall. I mentally thanked All for One for his extensive quirk library as a sensory enhancement quirk made the otherwise inaudible voices through the soundproofed wall as clear as if I were right there beside them.

"I don't understand why you're going through all this effort, master. There are more important matters you could be focusing on, and with your health…"

"My health is no concern of yours Kurogiri. I know my limits, I am no child."

I took in a sharp breath. Kurogiri, the guy who had been the pivotal force in the Unforeseen Simulation Joint invasion. Without his intervention none of the villains would have been able to get into USJ or divide the class so effectively. I had more than a little bit of a bone to pick with him.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to imply anything." Kurogiri apologized.

"I'm sure."

"Still, I don't understand your fascination with the boy… Is it because he has a quirk so similar to your own?"

All for One laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time I've come across a quirk similar to my own. I've yet to find one of them that matches it's might, or one with the talent necessary to make full use of it. But certainly, his quirk interests me."

"Then why not take it as your own and leave this pointless endeavor?"

I heard the sounds of Kurogiri strangling. "You forget your place, Kurogiri. Do not take me for a fool. I know what I am doing. If you question me once more I will not be merciful in extracting recompense."

How he could grab hold of someone intangible was odd, but then again he _was _All for One, a monster of extreme ability. I heard the strangling stop and soon after Kurogiri was coughing and wheezing.

"And this is no mere whim of mine. That boy, I believe he may become my successor. Shouldn't I take the time to groom him?"

My throat was filled with bile at the admission.

"And what about Tomura, master? Is this because of his arm? I think he can still be a capable leader, once he overcomes his immaturity."

"No, Tomura's arm is but a trifle to correct. I've only left it as it is to teach him an important lesson, one in biting off more than you can chew. For him to go into UA, the place where some of the greatest heroes gather and with hundreds of hero students capable in their own right was utterly foolish even with the meager provisions he managed to scrape together. No, there were a dozen more appropriate methods to get to All Might without stepping into the lion's den."

"Then why did you let him go ahead with his plan?…"

"Some lessons need to be learned personally. I have not given up on Tomura, Kurogiri. But a wise man always has back up plans. And there is something poetic about the next successor of the League being a man who can copy and modify quirks himself. The boy's personality fits the bill too. He reminds me a lot of my own youth, in some ways. Disdain for society and it's rules, rightfully arrogant in his strength, analytical and sharp of mind. We have very much similar personalities. He feels that the sheep who run the government have gotten away with ordering around their betters for far too long. They need to be put in their place and it's up to the powerful among us to do that, to shape this world. Isn't that right, Izuku?"

And then he was infront of me again. I didn't even see him teleport out.

Instead of being embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping I was furious at his assertion that I was like him, and that what I'd been like in Junior High somehow meant I was going to become this dictator like figure, or that I wanted to screw people over because they were normal members of society. It spit in the face of all the effort I'd been making, said that I hadn't, couldn't change.

"You're wrong. I'm nothing like you!"

"Oh? You don't see the similarities?"

"No. Not even a bit. You're a cruel man who hurts people for a living and who wants to see the world burn. I'm working to protect it."

"Are you? Are you really? Do you even know what you're protecting? The pitfalls of this capitalistic society, this world obsessed with rules and equality when no man is born equal? Would you have a fool lead us if the majority agreed? Would you bow to the whims of a government who gorges on the weak and poor?"

"Don't make it sound like you're some sort of resistance leader and that you're out to fix the wrongs of the world. You'd just as easily swindle from a beggar as you would a rich man."

"Oh, if the beggar had something that interested me, sure." All for One admitted freely.

"You're a monster." I said, disgusted.

"Yes. I am." He said, and seemed proud of it too. "And you are one too."

* * *

The plastic serving plate I'd been using as my meal dish was piled as tall as my head with mashed potatoes and steak. There was no gravy, my first attempt at making that had soured my experience so I'd decided to keep any cooking I had to do as simple as possible. Even then the food I made wasn't anything I would want to serve anyone else. The mashed potato was greasy, mushy and had uneven clumps throughout. The steak was tough as rubber, just completely fried to hell and bland too. The best thing at the makeshift table was my gallon of orange juice. I took swigs of it between bites, to help get the stuff down my throat.

My phone rang and without any towels nearby I shrugged, wiped my hands on the front of my still soaked sweatshirt like a barbarian, and pulled it out.

"Hey Inasa." I said, then burped.

"Have you seen the news?" Inasa asked immediately. He sounded frantic, I could almost feel his hands shake through the call.

"No, I haven't. I'm still training. I haven't even watched a video in three days!" I said, laughing.

Inasa wasn't laughing though. He still sounded really, really serious. "Izuku, could you sit down for a bit? Somewhere out of the way, where nobody might hear you."

Now I became really, really worried. My heart started to race and my hand tightened around my phone. "Inasa… You'd better not be joking right now."

"Izuku. You need to sit down."

"I am sitting! You'd better start telling me what's going on Inasa!" I yelled into the phone, spit flying. "What's happened!"

"Izuku, please. Stay calm."

"I'm not playing this game with you! You'd better tell me what's going on right now or I'll find out myself."

Inasa sighed. "Izuku… Tenya is dead."

My heart stopped. "W-what?"

"Tenya is dead. Todoroki- Todoroki found him. It's on the news right now."

I started laughing. "Hey, you're joking right? This is some sort of prank right?"

"Izuku!" Inasa shouted "This isn't a joke. I'd never joke about something like this!"

I nearly fell back in my seat. God… God, I had been meaning to keep in touch with Tenya. I'd promised him that I would come around to his place after Golden Week, just like his parents wanted.

"How… How did this happen?"

"The League of Villains."

My jaw tightened. "What did they _do_?"

"They attacked Hosu city. Noumus, sort of like the one that you fought in USJ, they started attacking anyone in sight. Breaking buildings, tearing up roads, starting fires, doing all sorts of damage. The news is saying that they haven't confirmed a tally of the injured and dead, but they estimate over a hundred people were killed, thousands more hospitalized."

"Is that how Iida?…"

"No. Izuku, you need to promise me that you'll stay calm about this. It wasn't your fault, there was no way you could have known…"

Hosu City… Ingenium had been attacked by stain there the day of the sports festival. And Stain always seemed to stay in a city until he had 'purified' it of three heroes. "Stain." I said over the line, hatred overcoming me.

"Izuku! I don't know what you're thinking of but you need to stay where you are. The Noumu's seem to have been taken care of by the heroes in the vicinity but they still think there may be some vill-"

I turned off the call. My phone rang and his name popped up on screen again almost immediately. I put my phone on silent and raged.

I threw the weights across the room, kicked the fridge and started breaking everything I could get my hands on.

"Fuck!" I screamed, my hands bleeding. Then I started sobbing. I had promised Ingenium, I had given him my word that I would look after his brother. I'd been told what Inasa was planning. I knew what would happen if he tried going through with it. I had planned to keep in touch with Iida during the week, to subtly convince him away from his course of action or instead at least find clues that let me know when he would be trying to get to Stain so that I could step in and get him the hell out of there.

Instead I'd been so obsessed with training to be a hero that I'd forgotten all about it. I'd been so obsessed about being a hero but hadn't been one when it counted.

"What is the fit all about, Mr Midoriya?"

I looked up at All for One. This was all his fault. If he hadn't come along I would have remembered my promise to Ingenium, Iida would still be alive, the villains wouldn't have attacked Hosu. _His_ villains, my brain supplied, the League of Villains.

"_You_…" I hissed, rising. "I'll kill you!"

I charged at him, my arm morphing into a crystalline sword that made for his head. He grabbed it with one hand, the skin of his palm not even scratched by the sharp edge.

"Oh." He said. "I'd almost forgotten about this one. This used to be one of my favorites. Extremely versatile, if the crystalline structure could be generated outside the body of the woman who had it she would have been a top-tier villain for sure. As it was she was letting her talents rot in a law firm. What a waste…" He sighed

"You think this is a joke? You think you'll get away with this?!" I yelled, kicking at him.

"Get away with what? Expecting people to make use of their talents?" He hadn't even tried to block, not fazed by the kick. His leg didn't even twitch.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about." He dodged the whip of concentrated water, a move I had thought up but could never quite get right before, then punched me in the stomach so hard my feet left the floor and I seemed to fold in half over his fist.

"I don't need to pretend. I really have no idea why you'd suddenly resort to violence on inanimate objects. Pretty bad sportsmanship if you ask me, since they can't fight back."

"Hosu." I coughed, spitting up blood. My lung had been pierced by one of the ribs he'd knocked broken. I'd have needed immediate hospitalization without_ Cell Revival_. Even so I had nothing in me to keep fighting.

He nodded. "Ah yes, Kurogiri mentioned something about that. That brat Tomura took one of my experimental Noumu's too. I'll have to let him know of my disapproval after our lesson."

"So you didn't call the attack?" I asked when I could breath without air feeling like fire.

"No. What would the point of all that be? There is little to gain from such an attack while the League is still growing. It would put an unnecessary amount of attention on the guild right now, after doing something that attention catching so soon we would have to be very careful about any of our standard operations that could draw the attention of the law, far more so than we do now. It would make things far too difficult far too quickly. Those sorts of city wide attacks should be held off until we are large enough to shrug off any heroes that could come after us. These are the sorts of things you will have to consider when you take my position."

"I'll never join the damned League of Villains! So what you're saying is that even though you didn't call the attack you're not particularly upset that the hand guy did?"

"No, I'm not. It was a very foolish course of action that Kurogiri should have called him off of, but I suppose that after his embarrassing loss to UA and you in particular Tomura has been rather fanatical about getting revenge. It's understandable."

"Hundreds of people dying is understandable to you?!"

"Yes, because they were killed by my Noumu. It's not hard to understand. They were just regular citizens, nobody of value." He said, waving it off.

My jaw clenched. "I don't have time to argue with you. I need to get to Hosu, before that coward Stain runs off."

"Oh? Tomura managed to get him involved in the attack? Impressive."

I didn't for a second believe that he hadn't known that already. "Could you get me to him? I'm sure you'll be able to find him."

I knew that All for One's quirk had it's own version of a quirk field. I wasn't sure on the mechanisms behind it but I knew that whatever it was he had shown an amazing ability to sense and instantly gauge quirk strengths, functions and limitations. Even if I'd taken Endeavour's offer and gotten a quirk specialist to look at me there was no way the man would have been able diagnose my errors in real-time like All for One did to anywhere near the same degree.

"Why should I do that? We still have a lesson to do in a few hours."

"Because I am going to kill him. And even if you don't help me I'm still going after him. This way I can get it done faster, and we might still be able to get the lesson in."

He seemed inordinately pleased. "Ah, I see. Well, that changes things."

He grabbed my shoulder, his palm so wide that the edges of his fingers wrapped around my shoulder and rose onto my neck. The purple teleportation gloop covered us and then we reappeared on a rooftop, smoke still rising into the sky from several places in the city. Most of the lights were off, making the entire city dark and gloomy.

"This is as near as I can take you. I'd rather not have it known that I am still alive and this is as near to Stain as I can get without getting videotaped."

"It's good enough. What direction is he in?"

"Can't feel his quirk?" All for One asked, smirking beneath his mask, certainly aware of my previous train of thought regarding his quirk.

"You know my quirk field doesn't go out very far yet. Which direction is he in?" I said gruffly.

"No need to be impolite. He is due north, moving quickly. I expect he is trying to leave the city as soon as possible but he is keeping to the alleys and sewers, avoiding the more trafficked areas as far as possible. That'll slow him down enough that you can catch up to him in ten minutes from this point."

"Great." I said, leaping from the edge of the building. Several speed and strength enhancement quirks from All for One meant that jumping from one rooftop to another was a cakewalk at first but soon, as those quirks went out of range, I had to start replacing it with different quirks. My hair grew to twice the length of my body and grabbed onto windowsills and gutters, flinging me through the air with the control of an extra limb. Then I grew out wings, black and feathered but more patchy than my previous incarnation. And in eight minutes, faster than All for One's estimate, I felt his quirk.

The little information on Stain floating around on the internet seemed to indicate that he had some sort of immobilizing quirk, though the possible mechanism was disputed. But for him to be able to paralyze you by ingesting your blood… That was freaky.

If I hadn't been able to feel his quirk I would have been hard pressed to see him at all. He blended into the shadows so well that he melded into the background, barely making a sound. That with his knives and outfit told me that the man thought he was some sort of ninja. Resorbing my wings mid-flight I dove toward him, my elevation lending me a freaky momentum as I held my legs out to kick him in the head. My aim was true but a deft sideways movement placed him out of harm's way. He was pretty skilled, it looked like.

I had to do a triple-roll so that my legs didn't break. "Stain!"

"You… I know you. Watched the video of your fight against the slime villain. I was impressed with the way you handled it. You didn't need to step in, were told not to, even faced legal issues if you jumped in but you still did it, foregoing your safety for the safety of the citizens." He nodded at me, ignoring my attack. "You'll make a good hero I think."

His compliment infuriated me more. "So I'm good according to you, but Iida Tenya wasn't?!"

"Who is that?" He asked.

I tightened my fists so hard it hurt. "The hero student you killed earlier this evening."

"Right, I remember him now. There was no way around it. He didn't have the heart of a true hero. It was more of a mercy for me to cut him short then. If I had let him go he would have caused trouble in the future."

"Who the fuck do you think you are to judge people's lives so easily? You didn't know him at all! He was a good guy who always tried to help out everyone, a little brother who adored his elder brother so much that he'd put his life on the line to get him vengeance. And a moment's judgement from you was enough to decide that killing him was the best option? And the fact that he attacked you had nothing to do with it?! You're full of shit."

"It was the best option, though I am not proud of it. He was only out for revenge. A true hero cannot have revenge in his heart, it shows a weakness of character unbecoming for someone seeking that position."

"You shut the fuck up." I said "You don't know a thing about being a hero, and you didn't know a thing about Tenya… And you still killed him. So now I'm going to kill you." I promised, raising a fist.

Stain looked down, his already shaded face darkening further. "I see… This meeting has been very disappointing. I expected more of you."

**The opening lines of this chapter feel really clunky to me. No way around it though, I've had to redo this chapter from the ground up and it's taken up way too much time already. Still, I think it's not too bad. Izuku's reaction to Iida's death seemed very believable to me. Even if they weren't exactly good friends yet it wasn't like this was just some random person he didn't know, it was sure to hit him hard. The fact that he is partly responsible for Tenya's death and he knows it is enough for him to be furious beyond sense, a crusade to hunt down Stain was sure to come. There may be some upset about Iida's death but in canon if it weren't for Izuku it would have turned out the same way. With the two not being as close here and Izuku completely focused on training to overcome Bakugou his death is a natural consequence. **

**It will have long term effects on Izuku and class 1A as a whole. For some they will be pushed to sharpen their skills further, others who weren't so certain about becoming heroes will begin questioning if it's worth it in the first place. It's also going to magnify the hatred for the League far beyond canon, especially for Izuku. **

**Also, All for One orchestrated the whole conversation with Kurogiri to be overheard. The intention was to place doubts in Izuku's head and have him begin considering a life as a villain. He is not all that bothered about Izuku becoming the next leader of the league, actually preferring Tomura, but he knows that Izuku is somewhat power-hungry and a possible future as the leader of the league would be more enticing to his darker desires than any other position. Ideally he would want Izuku as Tomura's second in command, someone who can temper his overwhelming hatred and villainy with intelligence and common sense and still be capable of dominating the battlefield as he expects Tomura to.**

**Next chapter will be Izuku vs Stain, I had wanted it to happen this chapter but the two scenes in this chapter ran long by necessity. Their confrontation will be a long one so it made more sense for me to end it here instead of roughly breaking the fight between two chapters.**

_Your feedback, whether it be reviews, favorites or follows, is the cure to the brain-eating, zombifying disease of inaction. Save me from an afterlife of groans and shambling after the living with outstretched, grasping arms. Thanks :)_


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